DarkWing & Eos
by V2
Summary: An ancient legend predating the rise of the Silver Millennium forces the girls into a new alliance with an old friend and a new acquaintance. Welcome to the University of Tokyo...
1. Episode 1 - An Ancient Enemy Emerges

Karl Marx once called religion the "poor man's opium." For the cynics of the world, religion and mythology are fairy tales meant to calm children at bedtime and explain the unknown to the frightened masses. The creation of the sun, the stars in the heavens, and the rising of the land from the sea have been attributed to angry gods and goddesses, warring spirits, and benevolent heroes. Perhaps the cynics were correct. Perhaps Marx was right. Perhaps wizards and sorcerers never existed, and perhaps greedy vengeful gods never populated the heavens.  
Perhaps they were wrong.  
Consider that every major civilization has had a belief system, complete with deities and spirits who ruled over major and minor aspects of life, from the vast expanse of the ocean to the smallest grain of sand. What if these gods did exist? What if their rule was not myth and legend? Then, most legends would be true, even a legend of a kingdom on the moon with mighty warriors who protected it. Surely, they would have had their own gods and goddesses, ones that predate all knowledge of the religions of the earth. And, what if they were still to exist today? What if they are lying in wait, ready to rise and rule again?  
Who would stop them? Who could stop them?  
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Prologue  
32nd century – New Crystal Tokyo Palace  
"Eos?"  
"Yes, Rini?"  
"Tell me a story, won't you?" Eight years old and tucked in to her bed, Rini wasn't about to fall asleep any time soon. Her parents were away on "official business" as they liked to tell her, so her Guardian, baby-sitter, and surrogate big sister Eos was with her that evening. "Pleeeeease?"  
Eos knew better than to refuse. It was late, and no one needed to be awakened by the cries of a whiny child. The kid had a good pair of lungs, and she never hesitated to use them. "All right. What should it be about tonight?"  
"The old kingdom," she said, sitting up. "One of the old stories, about how it got there. Make it a little scary, too."  
"You sure you can handle a scary one?"  
"Yes," Rini answered. "I'm a big girl."  
"Okay, okay. Just one, though, and then you have to go to sleep." And so do I. It was hard work looking after an energetic little girl, especially one who would eventually inherit the throne of the Moon Kingdom .  
"I will."  
"Promise?"  
"Promise."  
Eos took a deep breath and began. "Long ago, before the moon hung in the sky, the earth was home to a great and ancient civilization. The people had many gods who helped them and protected them, but none were as powerful as Addae, the god of the Sun, Odanodan, the god of the Earth, and Semira, the goddess of the Sky. The people worshipped these three, giving them dominion over all the other gods and goddesses. Between the three, they ruled harmoniously and peace prevailed for many centuries."  
"What does harminerously mean?"  
"Harmoniously," Eos laughed. "It means they all got along nicely."  
"Oh, okay." She snuggled into her pillows. "What next?"  
"Not all of the gods and goddesses liked the way that Addae, Odanodan, and Semira worked together. The goddess of Water, Miakoda, envied their power and made a plan to gain control of the earth. She made a pact with Ciarazel, the goddess of Death, and between them they conspired to attack the beautiful island of Atlantis, where the largest temple to Addae stood. Miakoda summoned a mighty tsunami, destroying the temple and drowning thousands of people. Seeing his people and temple under attack, Addae managed to save the temple's chief priestess but no one else."  
"The rest of them died?"  
Eos nodded somberly. "And when the temple was destroyed, the powers of the god of the Sun grew weak. Without the protection of Addae, the people lived in fear of Miakoda and began to flock to her temples, begging for mercy. The worship of the people only made the Water goddess grow stronger, and she and her allies prepared to attack the mighty city of Babylon , where the twin temples to Odanodan and Semira stood. In defense, the people of Babylon went out to destroy the remaining shrines to Miakoda, hoping to lessen her powers."  
"Did it work?" Rini's voice grew quiet.  
"Yup, it did," Eos answered with a tiny smile. "Miakoda hadn't thought that the people would turn against her. As her temples and shrines were destroyed, her powers grew weak and she couldn't attack Babylon . Before she could hide and regain her strength, Addae, Odanodan, and Semira captured her. Being a Goddess, she couldn't be killed; however, they could remove her powers and force her to live as a mortal. So, Miakoda's powers were taken and divided, hidden into a crystal and an amulet. Still, they needed someone to control the tides; without Miakoda, the oceans would rise and cover the land. So, Semira cleared a place in her Sky, and Odanodan brought the piece of Earth known as Atlantis from the waters. Addae hung it in the Sky near the Earth, and set it so that it could guard the tides of the oceans. They named it Selene, or Moon, and sent most of the remaining priests and priestesses of Atlantis there, along with a few of the soldiers of Babylon to protect them. The three Gods entrusted them with the Silver Crystal and told them to watch over the Kingdoms on Earth, and that's how the Moon Kingdom was born. The priestesses of Atlantis who remained on Earth became keepers of the Moon, standing watch in case the Moon was ever threatened by Miakoda or her followers."  
"What happened to Miakoda?" Rini asked. "Did she die?"  
"She lived to be a very old woman, but before she died, she called on Ciarazel to save her from her fate. Afraid of the three powerful deities, Ciarazel gathered the few remaining temple guardians of Miakoda's fallen cult and cast a terrible spell. When Miakoda finally died, her spirit and those of her temple guardians was sealed into a book and held by a series of incantations. The only way Miakoda could ever be released would be through the words on her book and the presence of the amulet or the crystal."  
"Did that ever happen? Did they ever bring that bad woman back?" Rini's eyes were as wide as saucers.  
"No," she laughed. "They reunited the book and the amulet after the fall of the Earth Kingdom. No one could ever work the spell correctly." Eos got up and kissed Rini's forehead. "It's just a story, honey?"  
"Okay." Rini didn't sound as if she believed Eos.  
"Trust me. Besides, I'll always be here to protect you." She smoothed Rini's hair and smiled. "Good night, honey."  
"'Night."  
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The Present – University of Tokyo, Main Campus  
"Mina? Mina! Ohmigosh, MINA!"  
There were few people who would have yelled her name across the plaza at the University of Tokyo, and both Serena and Lita stood next to Mina outside the Fine Arts college on the first day of classes. Unsure of what psycho was stalking her, Mina turned around to see the familiar auburn hair and wide grin she remembered from Juuban High's swim team. The young woman was dodging students and professors as she streaked across campus, skidding to a stop inches from the three girls.  
"Mina? C'mon, you remember me, don't you? 400 freestyle relay, district championship?"  
"Of course I do!" Mina squealed. "Dawn, what are you doing here? I thought you moved back to the States when your dad transferred! Did they move back?"  
"Oh, hell no," Dawn laughed, catching her breath. "I got a two year scholarship through Toyota to come here and study mechanical engineering. After it's over, then they'll hire me to work part time here while I finish school."  
"You mean…"  
"I'm back!" Dawn giggled. "For good this time, I hope." Moving back to her mom's hometown of Lexington , Kentucky had been less than stellar, in Dawn's opinion. She had enjoyed living in Tokyo for four years, getting to know girls like Mina and her friends and making a small name for herself as one of the top swimmers on the high school swim team. Since she'd been in Lexington, she'd made it her priority to get back to the place she considered home. Funny, considering how out of place she looked on campus. Five foot seven, with a freckled tan and long dark auburn hair, she stood a few inches taller than Serena and Mina, but stood shoulder to shoulder with Lita. She smiled at the two other girls. "Um, Serena and Lita, right?"  
"Yeah, that's right," Serena answered cautiously. "Dawn Connolly, right?"  
"Of course that's Dawn," Lita interrupted. "You remember, she used to eat lunch with us. She used to bring those awesome brownies with her, the ones that had the chocolate chips inside and the fudge icing!"  
"Oh yeah! Now I remember!". Leave it to Serena to identify someone by a dessert. "Well, nice to see you again," she said, warming up. "You said you're doing engineering?"  
"Yup," Dawn replied. "What are you guys studying?"  
"Culinary arts," Lita answered. "Mina's doing theatre and set design, and Serena's doing, um…" She looked at the blonde, who had insisted on wearing her hair in the telltale odangos on the first day of classes. "Exactly what are you studying, Serena?"  
"Early childhood education," she answered proudly. "I'm gonna be a teacher."  
"Right," Lita muttered. "Like you'll survive dealing with little kids for more than five minutes. You couldn't deal with Rini for thirty seconds," she reminded her.  
"That's completely different," Serena said. "I'm not related to any of these kids."  
"Whatever."  
"I'd like to see you try and do better."  
"I could."  
"Um," Dawn interrupted hesitantly. "What about those two other girls I met? The one with the blue hair, and the one at the shrine, I mean."  
"Oh, Amy and Raye," Mina answered gratefully. She didn't want to have to listen to Lita and Serena start arguing either. "Amy's in the accelerated pre-med program. She started a couple of months early, to get a head start on classes."  
"Early?" squeaked Dawn. "Was she behind or something?"  
"Three semesters ahead," replied Lita. "She wants to get out in four years, though. I told her she's gonna burn out if she's not careful."  
"No kidding," agreed Dawn. "So, what's Raye studying?"  
"Nothing." Serena shifted her book bag to her other shoulder. "She's still working at the temple. She wanted to go to school, but well…" She gave an embarrassed grin. "She's still working on that, too. You don't make much money as a priestess."  
"Oh." Dawn didn't know how to respond to that. She looked down at her watch. "I gotta get to class soon. Do you guys know where the engineering complex is?" All three of the girls shook their heads from side to side. "Guess I'll find it on my own, then."  
"You wanna meet up later? For coffee or something?" Mina pulled out her class schedule. "I don't have any classes after three this afternoon. Whatcha say?"  
Dawn consulted her planner. "I can do that," she replied after a while. "Meet you back here, then?"  
"'Kay. See ya later!"  
"Yup, later!" Dawn watched the three girls head inside the building and then dug around in her backpack for her map. She detested being lost, and while her Japanese was still tops, she worried about asking someone for directions. Sitting on a concrete bench, she squinted at the pages, trying to reorient herself.  
   
Ian stood in the Plaza, taking in the sights and fighting a blinding headache. He'd arrived just two days before from England , and jet lag was still a major problem. Still, the wide open space was everything he needed, and the glass futuristic surrounding helped him to lessen any remaining anxiety. He was leaning against the stairs of a nearby building, the cool steel against his neck a welcome relief. HE had to be the only idiot wearing a thick leather jacket in the 100 + degree weather. The air conditioning in there sucked. There was little difference between the inside and outside temperatures and he could feel a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He ran his hand over it and into his hair… his hair, the one reminder of home he'd brought with him. Nearly seven inches long and center parted, the left parting was dyed a bright blue while the right a deep claret, the colours of the Football team he'd supported practically since birth, his father had seen to that. He smiled briefly at the thought as his eyes wandered among the crowd.  
For a few minutes now he'd been examining a group of girls as they walked along the Plaza, a tall brunette and two shorter blondes. Each of them wore figure hugging pants he would've loved to open; then again, the first day in a new country with only a rudimentary understanding of the language was probably not the best time to get shot down. The other young woman running towards them shouting something was quite obviously a Yank. Her freckled skin was certainly not symptomatic of being Japanese. Besides, no self-respecting European would've been that brazen in a public place. She was a little shorter than him perhaps, but he could deal with that. Besides, she'd been kind enough to wear a low cut tank top, and for that he was a bit thankful. Her dark auburn hair chased her along as she ran erratically around and nearly through the other students.  
Students… yes, must remain focused. A physics lecture would be starting soon and if he missed the first, he'd no doubt have a problem for the rest of the year. Ian returned his attention to the four girls as the three he'd first watched headed inside a nearby building, leaving the Yankee chick to find her own way. As she took her leave of the group and sat down at a bench, she appeared lost with her map in her hands. Ian chuckled to himself as he considered the chance for some fun, but she was still smiling, and that seemed out of place. How could someone be smiling when lost in a foreign country?  
   
"Don't tell me you're that bloody perky all the time."  
Dawn's head snapped up. She hadn't heard anyone speak English to her for a week now, not counting the phone calls home or her treasured collection of Kevin Smith films she had at her apartment. She shielded her eyes as she caught sight of a rather tall and somewhat intimidating young man her own age leaning against the stairs of a nearby building. Bright red hair hung to his chin on the left, while blue complimented the right. He walked towards her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black stonewashed jeans. A black leather jacket covered a plain white t-shirt, and his sneakers had obviously seen better days.  
"What, don't you speak English?" he said, a little more slowly. "You look like a Yank."  
"'Cause I am," she answered, a bit defensive. "You're obviously not."  
He snickered and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn straight. I'd probably shoot myself if I was." He nodded at the map. "You lookin' for the Engineering complex?"  
"Yeah." She wasn't sure what to make of the guy. He reminded her of almost every single dissatisfied angst-ridden male she'd met in high school. Still, the accent was kinda cute. "I got classes there in fifteen minutes. You know where it is?"  
"Maybe."  
"Could you tell me?" While she was patient to a fault, Dawn's good humor was wearing thin. She didn't appreciate having to play games with some jerk just to get where she was going.  
"I gotta go there, too," he shrugged. "You can follow me, if you like." He pulled a hand out of his pocket and extended it towards her. "Name's Ian."  
"Dawn. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand and stood up, stuffing the papers and planner into her book bag. "You studying engineering too?"  
"Nah, I just got a class there," he answered. "Physics lecture."  
"Funny, that's what I've got." She gave a wry grin. "What a coincidence."  
"Hmph." He ran a hand through his hair and tossed his head. "You always this happy?"  
"Not when I have to deal with arrogant jackasses," she shot back, her patience completely disappearing in a matter of seconds. "Are you always this obnoxious?"  
"Eh, if I feel like it."  
"Guess you feel like it now, huh?"  
"Perhaps." He looked down at her, an amused grin threatening to break across his face. "Perhaps not. Haven't made up me mind yet."  
   
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The dress was too long. Maybe the perfect length for some prissy ball, but in Rini's opinion it was a waste of ugly pink material. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection before turning away from the mirror and sitting on her bed. It had been two weeks since her parents had left on business, and no one had stayed around to keep her company. Eos had a nasty case of the flu, confining her to quarters and leaving Rini quite alone for several days. Serenity and Endymion would be home that evening just in time for some silly Imperial ball, meaning that she'd have to wear the ugly dress to appease them and fake a smile for the rest of the diplomats and dignitaries. She grimaced as she undressed and hung the dress on a hanger, then slipped on a more comfortable pair of shorts and a well-worn sweatshirt that was still three sizes too big. Rini flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind.  
"Rini? Are you there?" The vidscreen blinked on and the image of a fairly sick Eos came into focus.  
"Yeah, still here. How're you feeling?" She didn't bother to get up from her bed.  
"Not good," Eos coughed. "Are you sure you didn't catch this?"  
"I'm healthy. Bored out of my mind, and healthy."  
"Why don't you head down to the gardens? Take a walk or something."  
"And have four guards following me wherever I go? I'll pass, thank you." Rini pushed herself up to a sitting position and shoved the sleeves of her shirt to her elbows. "You're lucky you don't have to go to this stupid ball tonight."  
"You're lucky you're not sick." Eos blew her nose and coughed again. "I'd rather sit through dinner than go through another box of tissue."  
"That just proves you're sick." The Imperial Princess wrinkled her nose as she looked over at the dress, which seemed to grow uglier by the minute. "I'll trade you."  
"You don't want this," she replied. "Look, I'll talk to you later on. My stomach doesn't feel so hot."  
"Yeah, okay." The screen blinked out and Rini let out an irritated sigh. It wasn't fair to have to do all of this stupid diplomatic bullshit day in and day out. No one else had to deal with two parents who never bothered to come home for more than two days at a time, or simpering suitors who saw her as another piece of territory to conquer. Ever since she'd turned sixteen, it'd been a steady stream of tutors, etiquette lessons, and state dinners. Over two years of this junk, and she was tired of it. Angry, Rini kicked the side of her dresser with a socked foot and heard a number of trinkets clatter to the floor. It was childish, but it made her feel a little bit better. She knocked it a few more times for good measure before bending down to pick up the larger things that had fallen. Picture frames, a hairbrush… she'd broken her rabbit figurine again. Damn. Rini scooped up the pieces and put them in a pile. Eos would help her fix it when she felt better. She knelt down and checked under the dresser for any other pieces, stretching her hand back in the space between the floor and bottom drawer. Her fingers closed upon something smooth and metallic, and she pulled her arm back to see what she'd found. The Crystal Key lay in her hand, the slender gold chain trailing to the floor. Rini sat down on the carpet and fixed the chain around her neck, then held the Key up to examine it.  
Life hadn't been so boring when she'd been younger. Threats to the Moon Kingdom had caused Serenity and Endymion to send her back to the late twentieth century, where she'd met up with the Sailor Scouts and received a bit of training. Pluto had accompanied her a few times, but they'd returned from the last trip more than five years ago. They hadn't needed to go back since then, and Pluto had kept the Key with her until Rini's eighteenth birthday. She'd presented it to Rini after the celebration, telling her that it was her responsibility to guard it now. For Rini, guarding meant tucking it away in a box and forgetting about it. She idly traced the outline of the Key with her finger, a half-smile on her face. She had a few hours to kill, didn't she? Besides, it wasn't as if anyone would miss her until then. She could hold her own in Old Tokyo for half a day, then come home in time for dinner. Rini stood up and crossed to the center of the room, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The pigtails were still there, in all their rabbit-eared glory. That would have to change before going out to play. In a matter of minutes, Rini had shaken out her rabbit ears and braided her pink hair into a single tail running over her shoulder. Much better. She pulled the necklace off and held the Key above her head. Anything was better than hanging around the palace all afternoon.  
   
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In the sweltering midday heat, black is probably not the best colour to be wearing. Then again, when black is your personal flag to define your public identity, you wear it anyways and find shade or preferably air conditioning. Aaron, Valerie, Ryan, and Sarah always preferred the latter. Amidst the neo-yuppies of modern day Tokyo they were fairly easy to recognize. Black coats, black trousers, and the spiked dog collars made them stick out like sore thumbs, especially in this heat. The four had taken respite in a local used bookstore, and naturally headed for the occult section. Given it was a small bookstore in Tokyo , the owner informed them that there was no such section.  
"What do you mean 'we have no occult section'?" Aaron sneered, his favourite hobby and pastime currently stifled. The music was practically unavailable and books were like gold dust.  
"Calm down Aaron. Shouting at him won't make the books appear, ya know." Sarah, Aaron's little sister by only ten months had a far meeker nature. She appreciated his interests in the darker side of the supernatural, but didn't see the need to be so threatening.  
"Yeah, but they've got to have something, surely." Valerie's voice had a menacing edge to it as she gave the owner a once over.  
"Okay, okay. I might have something you'd like. Try the far side of the fairy tales section; I know there're a couple of mythology books there. Maybe you can find something of interest." The shop owner stepped back nervously, obviously just trying to avoid a confrontation.  
A sly grin spread across Ryan's face. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" He turned and walked the length of the store toward the shelves the owner had mentioned. The section was right by the door… perfect. Together, they examined the various titles but found nothing interesting. There were a few about friendly giants and knights who slew dragons, but none of what Aaron referred to as "the good stuff". Finally, he reached a few about mythology. Greek, Roman, Egyptian… and something different. Dusty and a bit moldy around the edges, it looked quite old. It was held together with a leather sheath and metal braces. The book was massive, like a tome. Aaron struggled to force it from the shelf and it took all his strength to even hold it up.  
"Hey, look at this," he called out, using Ryan to hold the book. Valerie put down the book on Roman mythology and walked over.  
"Nice, what does it say?" She ran her hand over the strange markings on the front, dusting it off. "Unabara no megami, goddess of the sea." Aaron and Ryan both looked at her in amazement.  
"How did you know that?" asked Ryan. He had never seen anything like that book before, and he was sure he'd read all the books Val had.  
"A good guess, I dunno. Anyways, I think we should…" She put a hand over her mouth and coughed lightly. "Acquire this book." Aaron raised an eyebrow in reply as Sarah opened her mouth to protest.  
"No you guys, not again. If we get caught again we're gonna be charged." Leave it to Sarah to be rational and spoil the fun.   
"We aren't going to get caught, and keep your voice down." Aaron and Ryan were already sizing up the place; it was second nature the minute they walked in. No security cameras, no mirrors, and they were right next to the door. The only problem was the shop owner, who looked to be in pretty good shape. If they simply ran for it, he might be able to catch them. There were no other customers in the shop and it wasn't as if they could just hide something that big and heavy in one of their bags.  
"Come on, you know you've got a physics lecture starting in 5 minutes!" Sarah hissed, the group's timekeeper in addition to being their often-whining voice of reason. Still, she was right; they were at least ten minutes from campus already. Ryan was still holding the massive tome. They needed that book, and a distraction was the only way to get it and get out safely. Aaron looked at the price tag just to check the damage. 13,000 yen. Shit. Granted, it was old, but that was a lot to pay for something no one else seemed to want.  
"Val, distract him. We'll smuggle this out."  
Grinning, Valerie took off her cape and flung it over her arm. She knew the drill by now. That was the great thing about wearing tight leather dresses; it was so easy to cause a distraction. She sauntered up to the desk, making damn sure to swing her hips as she walked. The storeowner, who wasn't more than thirty, was captivated. "Excuse me mister," she said, wetting her lips with her tongue. "You're such a big strong man, and, well, I can't quite reach the book I want. Could you be a doll and help a poor girl out?"  
"Sure miss, just tell me where it is." Stammering, he followed Valerie to the opposite corner of the store where she pointed to the top row. As he turned to get the book down, Aaron opened the shop door and Ryan placed the tome outside against the wall. They waited until the owner had gotten the book down and handed it to her, a puppy-dog grin on his face. She thumbed through it, then tossed it onto a stack  
"Nah," she said, losing all the seductive sweetness she had previously employed. "Got this one already, but thanks anyway." She giggled and walked out with the others, Aaron collecting their prize on the way through. Sarah argued as they crammed it into her nearly empty knapsack, complaining enough to force Aaron to carry it back to campus. He didn't care too much, though. New toys always put him in a good mood.  
   
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The lecture hall was only half full when Dawn and Ian arrived. She insisted on sitting in the first or second row; given his nature, he wanted to lurk at the back. At some point in the decision they both expected that they would sit together. So, they took the obvious compromise and found seats in the middle of the room.  
"So what else ya taking then?" Dawn asked, trying to start some kind of conversation. She hadn't actually spoken with him apart from the seating thing and it was beginning to bug her, walking along with a stone giant and not saying a word. She wasn't the kind of person who had to keep a constant dialogue going, but the silence was creeping her out.  
"Little of this," he remarked, entirely disinterested. "Little of that."  
She looked at him with disdain. He was doing it purely to piss her off and she knew it. From the glint in his eye, she also knew he was loving every minute of it. With a sigh she decided to try again.  
"Okay then. Whatcha doin' after this lecture?" That'll get his attention.  
"Day's over, then. Home, sleep." He turned and flashed a sick smile, the kind a serial killer would wear just before he slashed someone's throat. "Why, you got a better offer?" Ian licked his top lip quickly with a long wet tongue that nearly touched his nose, then blew her a sarcastic kiss. He polished it all off with a cheeky wink. Just as sudden as the farcical animation had begun, his face sagged back into its cold dead indifferent pose. Dawn contemplated slapping it clean off his face but decided restraint was in order… for the moment.  
"Well, I was gonna go out for a coffee with some old friends and I was just wondering what you were doing. If you're not doing anything, you can come along." Her voice was strained and she asked herself why the hell she bothered extending the offer. He had been nothing but an arrogant pig since she'd met him, but there was something about him that made her think the attitude was a cover for something else. He was outwardly very calm and cagey, but there remained a hint of a sort of kindness. While the brief bits of humor there were warped at times, they were there and spontaneous, which she did enjoy. Ian could make for an interesting companion that afternoon with the other girls. Besides, Mina always did love the strong silent type, and he seemed to fit the bill. Then again, playing matchmaker for those two might not be such a good idea. Dawn could imagine Mina having to call the police after the psycho Brit started following her everywhere she went. She checked her watch and opened her notebook, tapping the edge of her pen against the desk as she waited for class to start.  
   
Ian had been making his own observations about his recent companion. Dawn seemed no different to every other perky little Yank he had despised on principal. Still, there were a few things that made her stand out. First, she didn't have a manicure. While a small detail, it showed more about her than listening to her talk. Though her nails were polished and even, there were chips and a few rough edges. He saw it as a good sign – a lack of conceit. There were a number of other quirks he had picked out that endeared her to him, but her eyes stood out the most. Believed by many to be the windows to the soul, eyes told Ian more about a person than any other feature. Framed by thick dark lashes, they were basic run of the mill brown, but they caught and reflected light from every angle. They'd changed color based upon her disposition, he'd realized after a few minutes of talking to her. Upset and annoyed, her eyes went to a muddied hazel, but remained a deep chocolate when she smiled. Ian loved eyes; he gauged new people by the way their eyes looked, moved, and, most of all, reacted to the unexpected. From his studies of people and eyes he was left to conclude that she was a very open person, quite lively and very genuine. Still, his paranoia about people remained; no one was that open and no one was that kind. She glanced back at him and he feigned disinterest, careful not to let her see what he was really doing.  
"Okay," he replied simply and without any real enthusiasm  
"You will?" Her voice shook and jumped a few octaves. "Sorry," she coughed, her fair skin flushing a bit. "You will?" she asked with more composure and a smile. He simply nodded and stared forward. "Okay then, we'll figure out where to meet after the lecture." He nodded again and folded his arms across his chest, and she returned to her pen tapping. At least it's a start.  
   
"Come on, for fuck's sake it isn't that heavy. Just take it." Aaron didn't like the idea of taking a black bag edged in lace into his first lecture. As it stood, he was now 10 minutes late and counting.  
"Well, then throw it away. I told you I wasn't gonna carry your shit for you. I didn't even want the thing." Sarah looked down at her boots and kicked at the ground. "Fucking thing gives me the creeps," she muttered. She had touched it briefly while Aaron and Ryan had been looking it over, and it made her flesh crawl. She had seen many books and tried a number of rituals and "spells" before with Aaron and his friends. Nothing had seemed really evil. That book, only bad things could come of it. In truth they had only been able to get less than a half dozen spells to work properly, the most impressive being lighting a candle. Even that hadn't been perfect; as soon as they'd stopped chanting it had gone out, and it had only been a spark if she was honest with herself.  
"It's a book, you stupid bitch. I can't take this in there with me. Look at it for chrissakes." He shook it in front of her to prove his point. She giggled nervously and just as suddenly, Aaron slapped her across the mouth. It was little more than a tap but the shock alone made Sarah stumble. She looked up at him, red cheeked and with a tear growing in her left eye.  
"Fuck you," she screamed savagely and stormed off down the corridor.  
"Come on, I barely touched you." A genuine note of apology and concern was audible, but she was gone. "Fuck," he muttered through gritted teeth as he slammed his fist into a locker creating a small dent. Now he had her to deal with later and the grammar school bag to carry. He took a breath and opened the door to the physics lecture.  
   
The door to the lecture hall creaked open, and Aaron could hear the professor already going through the upcoming syllabus. He took a tentative step inside, and noticed a spare seat half way up and a few seats in. At this point, Aaron became painfully aware that the professor had stopped and he, as well as every other person in the room, was looking directly at him. He shrugged and half jogged up the stairs to the seat he found. Just his luck, a pair of pasty-faced foreigners sat in his way. He stepped past the young woman, who smiled up at him as she moved her legs to let him pass. The man, however – the only person not looking at him – slouched forward, virtually pinning his knees to the seat in front of him. After the past events of this morning, he wasn't in any mood to deal with this.  
"Excuse me," he offered weakly.  
Ian's head rose up emotionless. "You're excused," came the reply. He returned to his original position, not moving otherwise.  
Aaron's upper lip contorted into a bit of a sneer. He had an impulse to stab the living wall in front of him, considering he always carried a small knife. It wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds to give him a close-up view of his spleen. Unfortunately, a lecture hall full of witnesses was not a good thing. He sighed audibly and set his jaw. "May I pass?" he asked through gritted teeth.  
Ian sat up in one fluid motion, without the help of his arms or legs. The other guy nodded and moved through to the empty seat. "Nice bag," Ian remarked casually, keeping his eyes focused ahead.  
"Fuck off. It's my sister's, you punk."  
"Says the man in black with the chains and the lacy black bag," he replied in the tone of a radio sports commentator. Ian's language skills weren't great, but he knew enough to get his point across.  
"You wanna start something here you piece of shit?" Aaron was becoming increasingly irritated and he didn't hide it well, but he kept his voice down. Up front, the professor had restarted the lesson and Ian had begun taking notes again. "I asked you a question, boy," he whispered. Ian offered no reaction, so Aaron reached over swiftly and stole his pen. Ian simply reached into his top pocket and produced another, which Aaron also took. Ian looked over, his face still devoid of any recognizable emotion.  
"Don't start anything you can't finish." With that, he reached out grabbed Aaron's hand with the pens in it and twisted it 180 degrees. In the process, Aaron's whole body was jerked towards Ian, who placed his elbow to his throat. "Boy." He retracted the arm and retrieved his pens, smirking. Just as suddenly, he returned to his note taking and Aaron was dumbstruck.  
"Was that really necessary?" Dawn hissed, wholly embarrassed at the scene that had just taken place next to her. "I'd have lent you a pen."  
Ian didn't bother answering. He just took his notes.  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
Ian, Dawn, and Mina walked down the street across from campus together. To be more specific, Dawn and Mina were walking together; Ian was trailing behind them, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Both girls chattered at such a pace that Ian could barely catch the odd word, let alone keep up. Somewhat bored, he decided an experiment was in order. They walked past an alley and he cut down it, catching a word or two about pizza. He was right; neither Dawn nor Mina noticed he had left. He wondered whether to be happy or shocked; instead, he decided to stay true to his neutral nature and just ignore them. Ian walked down the shadowed alley, head down as he scanned the ground. He'd never feared the usual dark street or unknown turn, so it didn't make sense to start now. Ian lifted his head, looking out towards the rush of midday traffic. The alley ended up ahead, past an enormous metal dumpster. Ian looked back down at the ground and swore loudly. His sneakers hovered a good half meter from the ground, and something not unlike a migraine had started in the back of his head. Bloody hell. Like I didn't have enough trouble already. Some random alley in a foreign country didn't seem like the greatest place to deal with this… inconvenience, for lack of a better word. Ian gripped the side of the dumpster, more angry than nervous at this point. Growing more disoriented by the second, he had only one option left. It wasn't the best option, but it would solve most of his problems as long as no one else saw him. Ian checked around the alley, making sure that no one had seen an eighteen year old guy levitate and cling to a dumpster. Alone, Ian supposed that a quick stint in his demon form wouldn't hurt anyone, as long as he could keep himself under control.  
   
She'd messed up somehow. In the few seconds between the palace and the past, Rini had caused the smallest of ripples in the time stream. She'd stumbled as she'd passed through the fabric of time, something she hadn't done in years. Pluto had always been there to steady her, to keep her from taking the wrong step like she'd done the first time and sending her plummeting to the grass below. Alone and still slightly clumsy, she gripped the Key tightly as the fabric of the early twenty-first century shimmered into existence around her. The scene held itself in place for a few seconds, then flew past as she tumbled towards the asphalt and the erratic scene of traffic in downtown Tokyo. Rini screamed as the ground grew closer, a fear of heights combining with the fear of impact. Her life flashed before her eyes like a cheap afternoon movie; her parents, her sixth birthday party, her first kiss, and Eos, of course, who had always been there for her. Unfortunately, Eos wasn't there now to catch her as traffic grew closer and closer. Rini screwed her eyes shut and held her breath, expecting the worst.  
She didn't get what she'd expected. Instead of the thud against the blacktop or the crack of broken bones, Rini heard the grunt of something as a strong body gripped her across the chest and supported her under her legs. She opened her eyes, half-expecting to see her beloved Tuxedo Mask coming to her rescue. Instead of the familiar cape and top hat, Rini saw the face of a gray winged stranger who had come to her aid. He looked back at her, expressionless as she stared up in shock. She couldn't tell if it was something worth trusting or something worth running from. Unable to decide, Rini resorted to screaming… not a normal "Oh my god, I'm going to die" scream, not a "Put me down, you dark winged psycho" scream, and not even a "What the FUCK is THAT" scream, but the kind only she could pull off. Without warning, Rini tensed and let loose with a bloodcurdling shriek as the faint crescent of the moon shone on her forehead. The resulting energy blast threw her winged savior into a nearby wall with her still in his arms. Both of them tumbled into the dumpster below, landing in a pile of restaurant garbage. He groaned and put a hand to his head, blood trickling down his face. As he struggled to get up, Rini scrambled out of the dumpster and sprinted down the alley.  
   
"HEY!" Something collided with Dawn that sent her sprawling to the pavement. "You know, a simple 'excuse me' would've done wonders," she replied sarcastically, wiping a glob of blood off her knee.  
"Rini? Is that really you?" Mina helped Rini up, leaving Dawn to dab at the scrapes on her hands and knees. "Shit, I haven't seen you in years. I mean, more for you than me, if you know what I mean …" Mina suddenly realized that Dawn was not only present but was still sitting on the ground courtesy of Rini's collision. "Sorry Dawn," she offered weakly, pulling her to her feet. "This is Rini, an old, um, friend. She's Serena's, err, cousin."  
Dawn rubbed a sore spot on her ass and scowled at the pink haired twit. She thought about snapping at her, but since Mina knew her she would try to be civil at least. Dawn offered her hand with a forced smile but the girl ignored it, simply staring at Dawn as if she'd seen a ghost. Mina grabbed Rini by the shoulders and turned her around to face her.  
"M… M… M Mina, there's something down there and I don't know what it is…" Rini was shaking the whole time; something or someone had scared the shit out of her. Before Mina or Rini could protest, Dawn took off down the alley alone  
"Dawn! DAWN!" Mina shouted, but it didn't do any good. Rini grabbed hold of her in a bear hug and started bawling into her shoulder, leaving Mina to do little more than pat her back and wait for her to calm down.  
   
"That's the LAST time I help anyone." Ian was pretty pissed. He smelled like garbage and had a fresh gash on his forehead to contend with. The blood had congealed beneath his hair, hiding most of the evidence. Ian crawled out of the dumpster and put his jacket back on. His shirt hung off his back in shreds; understandable, considering that growing wings will do that to a standard shirt. As he wiped the corner of his mouth, he saw a frantic figure run towards him. It came closer, and Ian wondered whether to stay and fight or get the hell out. The figure slowed and he could make out a curvy figure and a mass of long hair. Ian dropped his guard and started walking nonchalantly towards the young woman, seeing the face of the Yank as she stopped next to the dumpster.  
"Oh, so you know I'm missing then?" he remarked casually.  
"Did you see anything strange down here?" she asked, ignoring his question  
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Two could play this game. Ian put on a sarcastic female voice as he stepped closer. "Oh, that's good to hear. I couldn't live without you." Without missing a beat, he switched to a credible John Wayne. "Well, that's just fine little lady. Say, you wanna go for a little donkey ride?"  
"Shut up, you ass. Just answer the question."  
"No, nothing. Some dry lightning hit here I think, but nothing too special." Ian obviously couldn't tell her the truth; that a pink haired girl and a giant winged thing had flown into the dumpster, and where had it gone – oh wait, he had changed into it and back. Yeah, that'd fit nicely into a casual conversation.  
"Hey, you okay?" Dawn's voice softened as she caught sight of a large cut on Ian's forehead. "That looks really painful."  
"I'm fine." He started to walk past her, but she stopped in front of him. "Move." Dawn remained motionless in front of him, staring up into his face. "Move," he repeated, a little louder the second time.  
"You should get that cleaned up," she said, unfazed. "It could get really nasty if you don't clean it."  
Ian began to swear violently, most of the words lost in a throaty growl. He started to walk past her, but she sidestepped and blocked his path. "I'm not playing some fucking kid's game. Get out of the way."  
"Back off," she hissed. "Look, I'm not about to tell anybody that you got jumped in an alley your first day running around the city. Besides, some sissy pink-haired girl ran out a minute ago, babbling something about Satan himself running through here. I'm assuming she saw you and him and flipped out. Gimme a little credit here."  
Ian opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself before he could tell her that it would be a cold day in hell before he'd fare worst in an alley brawl. If that's what she thought had happened to him, it saved him an explanation. Besides, if Dawn wasn't going to say anything about it, what difference did it make? Like he gave a rat's ass about what some posh Yank thought about him. "Yeah, well… he looks worse," he mumbled.  
Dawn grinned. "I wouldn't have thought otherwise," she answered. "I'd know better than to mess with you in a dark alley."  
"Then what're you doing now?"  
"Messing with you in a semi-lit alley. I never said I was bright."  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
"I don't think this is a good idea."  
"Shut your mouth and light the rest of the candles, Sarah." Val set the massive book on a red pillow and drew the heavy black curtains across the window. Several dozen candles flickered around the room, casting eerie shadows across Aaron's face as he polished the blade of one of Val's daggers. They hung on every wall of her apartment, a sort of shrine to her fascination with knives and short swords. Valerie slid her arms over Aaron's shoulders, nipping him on the neck. "You ready for a bit of fun?" she purred.  
Aaron chuckled in reply, eyes still on the dagger. "You sure you read that book correctly?" he asked, holding the blade up for inspection. "Nothing happened the last time we tried something like this."  
"That was months ago," she replied, taking the dagger from him and standing. "Besides, we've got that book, and it's got some very specific illustrations. We can't mess this up."  
Sarah tossed the now-empty box of matches on the floor and padded over to the book. Writing ran along the outside edges of the pages, framing detailed sketches of what appeared to be a sacrifice of some kind. Two figures held down a third, while a fourth raised an amulet above its head. All four bore unique symbols on their skin, shown in detail in other drawings on the page. Each symbol was drawn in a grotesque rust on the aging parchment. Uneasy, Sarah looked to her own arms, freshly bandaged from her own morning ritual. Long sleeves hid the evidence from the rest of the world, but the other three knew about the scars. Sarah glanced at the book again, fairly certain of her role in the afternoon's experiment.  
"Did you get the water?" Ryan pointed to the glass bowl on the floor in response to Valerie's question. "All right," she replied, motioning with the dagger. "Take your shirt off and stand over there. You too, Aaron" Valerie bent down and used the dagger to pry the amulet from the cover of the book. "Shit, it's stuck."  
"Maybe you're not supposed to…"  
"If I want your fuckin' opinion, I'll give it to you," Valerie snapped as Sarah retreated into the shadows. Holding the dagger with both hands, Val slowly eased the stone amulet out of tome's cover. Thrusting it at Sarah, she pulled the book closer and lay the dagger on the table. "While you're waiting, clear a spot on the floor and sit there." Unable to do little more than nod, Sarah did as she was told and sat quietly on the red carpet. Val held the dagger over the flame of a candle and studied the drawings. After a moment, she extended her arm in front of her and pressed the hot metal to her skin, copying the characters beneath one of the figures. Blood trickled down the inside of her elbow into the bowl of water Ryan had brought. Val gritted her teeth but didn't make a sound, the skin on her arm growing redder and redder. Finished, she dipped the dagger in the water and held it over the flame again. "You're next," she called to Aaron, standing up. She handed him the book to hold as she consulted the second figure and the characters. A palm against his shoulder, Val slowly traced the second set of characters into the skin on his chest. Aaron bit his lip to keep from yelling as the blade dug in, leaving a bloody trail. Val dipped the dagger in the water again and repeated the same process for Ryan, carving the symbols into the tender skin behind his ear. He winced but didn't make a sound as she finished her handiwork. Val rinsed the knife a third time, then turned to Sarah.  
"Lie down, with that thing on your chest," she barked, the skin on her elbow burning. "Aaron, take those bandages off of her wrists."  
"Aaron, c'mon, this isn't funny anymore," she whimpered.  
He sneered as he reached for her arm. "I thought you liked playing with knives," he whispered. "You liked a bit of pain, remember?"  
"That's, that's different…"  
"A cut's a cut," Ryan replied nastily, seizing her other arm. "They all heal sooner or later." He yanked the bandages off of her wrist and forced Sarah's palm open towards Valerie. She pressed the blade into Sarah's palm, and the scream echoed through the apartment. Aaron held his sister down as Val finished the last insignia on Sarah's hand. Collecting the last bit of blood and rinsing off the dagger, Val placed the bowl of water above Sarah's head and took the amulet from her. "Hold the book so I can read it," she instructed Ryan. The amulet raised high in the air, Val began to chant the words beneath the image of the four figures in the book.  
"Intrea ni Ciarazel quor daithi  
Vet pavat zir mirali aurori  
Mizel ni akun cyra quos garren  
Atlanti ol Babyl sirat  
Mal unbari vet migam Miakoda."  
As she finished the chant, she thrust the amulet into the water. Sarah lay on the ground, whimpering softly as Val knelt over her, fingers closed over the stone. "Open your hand, Sarah," she ordered, pulling the amulet from the crimson-tinged water. "Let's see you summon the spirits." As Aaron forced her still-bleeding hand open, Sarah thrashed back and forth on the carpet.  
"Don't do this, Aaron! I don't want this, I don't, I…" Valerie cut her off with a slap to the face before pressing the amulet to her palm. As the stone met the scar on her hand, blood poured from the wound and the amulet gave off an eerie scarlet glow. Aaron and Ryan stepped back as Sarah began to writhe on the floor, her eyes glassed over. Her lips moved, no sound escaping as she thrashed back and forth violently. Valerie knelt over her, the dagger still in her hand. Sarah suddenly stopped, bringing the amulet up to Valerie's face.  
"Quos intrea aurori daithi Miakoda?" The voice from Sarah's lips was raspy as she stared at Val, who trembled slightly.  
"Unabara no, no megami," Valerie stammered, tapping the book. Sarah's face stretched into a grotesque smile as Val spoke.  
"Daithi," she repeated, gesturing to the amulet. It grew brighter as the three sets of characters began to pulse where Val had carved them. "Nirveli," she whispered, reaching for Val's arm. Sarah stood, the amulet clenched tightly in her fist as she crossed the room to Aaron and Ryan. Both of them shrank back against the wall as she got closer. "Ayhan, Rhyarith," she breathed, her hand passing over each carving.  
"Holy shit," Val managed to say. "We brought back a spirit."      
"Well, what do we do with it?" Ryan answered uneasily as Sarah stroked his face. "And what is she saying?"  
Val consulted the book that had fallen to the floor. "I dunno, but 'Miakoda' is written underneath this one big picture of a woman walking on water. Maybe that's what it is."  
At the sound of the name, Sarah turned back to Val and smiled again. Wordlessly, she took the amulet and dropped it into the water. As the stone met the surface, the candles grew brighter and the air seemed to ripple. In an instant, the room was plunged into darkness, leaving them at the mercy of the risen Miakoda.  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
Serena sat on the sofa in her apartment as Mina called the rest of the Sailors. Lita and Amy were both in class, while Raye was tied up at the temple. Only Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru were home. Rini sat at the kitchen table with a glass of water, staring down at the Key. Luna and Artemis were asleep under the table.  
"No, she didn't say what it was exactly," Mina explained over the phone. "It didn't hurt her, but I don't think we can be too careful." She paused, twisting bits of her blonde hair between her fingers. "Okay, see you in a bit. Later."  
"What's going on?" Serena asked as her roommate hung up the phone. "Who's coming over?  
"Haruka and Michiru are bringing Hotaru with them. They might know what happened to Rini back in that alley." She ducked her head inside the kitchen to check on the pink haired one. "Feel any better?"  
"A little," she admitted. A bruise had begun to show on her arm; other than that, she was just shaken up. "Serena, are you mad at me?"  
"Mad?" Serena turned around as she spoke. "No, I'm not mad. I'm pissed off that you can't keep your hands to yourself and let the rest of us live halfway normal lives." Now that she and Rini were about the same age, she didn't see any reason to be polite anymore. "What possessed you to come back here anyways? Life too boring in your little fairy-tale castle?"  
"Serena!" Luna exclaimed, sitting up. "That's not helping the situation."  
"Oh, shove it," she grumbled. "Like you're thrilled to have to do this stupid Sailor 'let's save the planet from itself' gig again." Serena stretched out on the couch and shut her eyes. "Why don't you just head back home, Rini? If I'm this pissed off in the present, you'd better believe that I'll be just as annoyed in the future."  
"You weren't at home," Rini snapped. "Mom and Dad were out on some day trip and we had to all go to some stupid dinner later tonight. I was just trying to kill a couple of hours."  
"Oh, that was real bright," Serena answered, the sarcasm dripping from the words as she spoke. "Do you do this all the time?"  
"Serena!" Mina yelled at the top of her voice, fed up with the current turn of events. "Will you grow up and quit being such a bitch? God, it's not like you never did stupid shit."  
"I never took a relic and jumped back in time 'cause I was bored."  
"Fine! I'll just go back then," Rini yelled, getting up from the table and nearly stepping on the cats. She grabbed her key and ran out to the balcony of the sixteenth floor apartment. "Crystal Key, take me home!"  
   
Ian looked around Dawn's modest apartment on the seventeenth floor of the building that she, Mina, and Serena lived in. It was decidedly bare, with lots of open space and little furniture. A navy blue couch on the far wall of the living room was covered with a few pillows, and the light pine coffee table in front of it was covered with books and papers. The computer desk in the corner of the room had an impressive setup, and the bookshelf above it was filled with textbooks and reference manuals. The entertainment center wasn't too bad either, and Ian picked up the remote to check out the channels as Dawn tossed her book bag next to her desk.  
"Gimme a sec to find the Band-Aids and peroxide, okay?" She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Ian on the couch. "Make yourself at home."  
Ian snorted. While clean and sporting adequate entertainment, Dawn's flat was entirely too cheery for his liking. She had blue candles everywhere, making the main room smell not unlike the salty air of the ocean. He settled back against the pillows and began flipping through the channels, stopping on the first English language program he saw. Dawn must've had some serious satellite package by the vast selection of channels he could access. Thank God it included Sky Sports 1. The football match was half over, but it was better than nothing. "You got anything to drink?"  
"I think so," she called back. "There's stuff in the fridge."  
Ian got up and walked into the tiny kitchen. Like the rest of the apartment, it was in blue and white and disgustingly neat. He pulled the door open and peered inside. Typical girl food, and way too healthy… he was about to shut the door and give up when he saw a few bottles of Michelob tucked in the back. Surprised, he grabbed one and went back to the couch. Maybe this place wasn't so bad.  
"You found my stash, huh?" She stepped out of the bathroom with a bottle of peroxide and a small plastic box. "Don't start telling people, all right?"  
He held up the bottle. "How'd you get a hold of this? Legal age here is 20." He'd assumed she was around 18, unlike himself who had just passed his 20th year.  
"Yeah, I know," she shrugged. "My dad and one of his business associates here helped me get the apartment set up two weeks ago. They'd bought some the last night they were here, and conveniently left a few behind in the fridge. Dad's been back in Kentucky for about a week now."  
"Where?"  
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Kentucky. It's where I'm from. Lexington, actually."  
"You don't sound like it." From the amount of bad movies he'd wasted his time watching, he knew that Dawn's Yankee accent, while atrocious, didn't have the telltale twang. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be barefoot and missing teeth and married to your brother?" He took another drink and checked the match in front of him.  
"Only if you plan to stay there. I obviously didn't." Dawn sat down next to him and uncapped the disinfectant. "This might sting," she cautioned. He didn't move as she dabbed at the cut on his head with the edge of a washcloth. She opened the box and pulled a tube of Neosporin and a tiny bandage.  
"I don't need the bandage," he protested. "This'll do." He held still for a few seconds more before leaning back against the couch.  
"All right, suit yourself." She got up and closed the lid of the first aid kit.  
Ian watched her walk towards the hallway. "Hey," he called. "Why're you doing all of this? You barely know me."  
She regarded him for a moment with a half-smile. "I dunno. It just felt like the right thing to do, I guess."  
"You must be brave, stupid, or own a really big dog."  
"A little of the first two, the third would be unfair to keep cooped up in such a small space, and there's no reason not to be nice… even if you did act like a jerk earlier," she added with a shrug. "You sure you don't want a Band-Aid?" she called over her shoulder as she went into the bathroom.  
"Yeah, I…" The sound of glass shattering outside brought Ian to his feet. He heard a few shrieks from downstairs, one sounding vaguely familiar.  
"What's going on?"  
Ian looked out the window and saw the same guy who'd given him trouble during the lecture standing next to an overturned car. The younger girl next to him held up an amulet that glowed a brilliant red, and two other people in black garb stood off to the side. A pair of girls in modified school uniforms guarded a third from their assailants. Just as suddenly, the figure holding the amulet let out an ungodly shriek, thrusting the amulet at the three Sailors. Ian watched with fascination as the one with sea-green hair raised her arms to sky, seeming to summon the oceans from beneath the pavement. With a mighty roar, the water surged forward at their attackers. Before the wave reached the dark quartet, the amulet pulsed even brighter and a deep red aura engulfed its keeper. The wall of water stopped and doubled in size, reversing its course. The Sailors disappeared beneath the waves, three beams of light racing towards the amulet as the waters subsided.  
"Ian?" Dawn stood in the hallway, a can of Diet Coke in her hand. "What the hell's going on?"  
"Uh, guess I turned the program up too loud," he lied. The guy down on the pavement was asking for a fight, and Ian was feeling generous at the moment. The only problem was getting out without Dawn knowing what was going on. "Hey, maybe I could use that bandage," he answered, rubbing his head for effect. "One of the little ones."  
Her face lit up. "Sure, lemme get the kit." As she went back to the bathroom, he grabbed one of the dining room chairs. He waited until she'd gone into the bathroom, then yanked the door shut and shoved the edge of the chair under the doorknob.  
"HEY!" Dawn spun around as the door slammed shut behind her. "What the fuck are you doing?" She rattled the door, barely able to open it a few inches. "Ian, let me OUT!"  
   
On the ground, Sailors Moon and Venus raced out of the front of the apartment building. Rini, untransformed and clutching her Key, followed the two out to the parking lot. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru lay near the gutter, unmoving. Rini raced towards them, tears in her eyes.  
"They're unconscious," she cried out frantically to the other two. "They're soaking wet, too." Instantly, a rough hand yanked her to her feet and shoved her into the path of a young woman dressed in tight black leather holding a nasty curved dagger.  
"You're in the wrong place at the wrong time," she growled, pointing the tip of the dagger at Rini's chest. "Such a shame, really." Before Val could play with her favorite toy, a string of red and yellw whizzed past her, bloodying her lower leg.  
"Back off!" Venus stood on the other side of the parking lot, trying to draw the attention of the girl with the dagger. Instead, she'd attracted the two larger thugs who seemed to be there as enforcers. Unsure of what to do next, she took off around the corner and sent a few more random attacks their way as bait. Sure enough, they followed her, one grasping a large crowbar and the other dangling a chain of sizeable length from his massive hands. Venus gulped and took a few steps back, suddenly wondering if fighting two bigger-than-average guys with weapons by herself in a shadowed part of the street was the best thing she could have done. At this point, she didn't like her odds. The one with the crowbar swung at her, catching the edge of her skirt and sweeping her legs out from beneath her. Venus landed on the ground, embedding sand and gravel into her upper thighs. A chain slammed the pavement inches from her head, barely missing her as she rolled out of the way. She got to her knees, crouched and ready. As she geared up for another Love Me Chain attack, a crowbar swing came within inches of her head and she tumbled again to avoid it. A length of chain whipped in front of her face from behind and she was suddenly hauled upwards as the chain grew tighter around her neck. Stars swirled in front of her as she struggled, suddenly tumbling to the asphalt.  
Venus looked up as a dark shadow passed overhead and came to rest behind the two thugs. Almost seven feet tall with blue-black skin and a monstrous wingspan, it grabbed Chain Boy and threw him against a dumpster. The other guy lunged forward and struck him across the back with the crowbar. The creature stumbled forward a few steps, then slowly turned and narrowed his eyes at the still-standing thug. Without warning, it roared, expanding his wings to their full length. She stared open-mouthed at the creature, slowly getting to her feet and trying to run; unfortunately, her legs wouldn't take the hint. The guy dropped his crowbar and backed up, his hands out in front to try and calm the thing down. Instead, it bared a set of menacing white teeth and raised both hands to the sky.  
"LIGHTNING SHADOW!" The creature brought both hands down violently as a black light engulfed its massive wings. Just as suddenly, the darkness surged forward in jagged spikes, driving the helpless guy into the wall behind him. The attack didn't stop; the beam continued as the monster growled even louder. The wall buckled under the attack, sending her attacker flying in a hail of brick and steel. With an audible crunch, his battered body landed on its neck and lay still amidst the rubble. Venus stared in horror for a moment, then lifted her head to see the dark-winged creature still standing in the alley.  
"Th-thanks," she stammered. "I think." It showed no emotion, but gravely nodded its head before taking off. Venus stared after it as it sprinted into the shadows of the building after the fleeing partner.  
   
"Venus, what the hell are you doing?" Sailor Moon screamed from the other side of the parking lot where the girl with the amulet had backed her up against the building. "I could use a hand here!"  
"Where is the other half of the spirit?" Sarah hissed in a voice that wasn't her own. "Priestess of Atlantis, do you guard the Crystal ?"  
Sailor Moon's eyes bugged out and she floundered for a response. "Atlantis? What're you talking about? I'm not a priestess, either!"  
"You guard the Crystal," Sarah replied in the same disembodied voice. "The risen Miakoda desires the Crystal, Priestess."  
Of all of the titles she held or was going to acquire in the future, Serena was pretty sure that "priestess" wasn't one of them. "Look, I don't know who you think you are or what you're doing with that," she answered, gesturing to the amulet. "But I can tell you right now that it'll be a cold day in hell before I give you anything."  
The girl holding the amulet leered at Sailor Moon, then pointed the amulet at Rini who hovered over the three fallen Sailors. "The spirit of the water goddess shall summon the Crystal ." Rini yelped as the Key was torn from her fingers and hovered above her head. It raced towards the amulet, its tiny crystal pulsing with a red aura. "For the risen Miakoda," Sarah chanted, closing her fingers around the relic in triumph. As she brought the Key to rest against the amulet, a strange red light spread from the two and struck both Val and the fleeing Aaron, who had rounded the corner out of the alley.  
"What're you doing? Give that back!" Sailor Moon threw herself at the younger of the two girls, temporarily forgetting that the other had a well-sharpened dagger at her disposal. She knocked the girl to the ground, ripping the Key from her hand and throwing it across the parking lot.  
"None shall defile the risen goddess of the seas," Val intoned in a hollow voice. "Those who do shall be offered up in sacrifice to the risen Mia-"  
"Shut the fuck up and help me," Aaron hollered as he ran from the winged creature who had taken flight and was gaining quickly.  
"Deep Submerge!" Val's lips formed the words that sent a mighty wave rushing towards the creature. It was engulfed by the wave as they thundered over the asphalt, but came flying through the onslaught like a bullet. A very wet, very pissed off bullet.  
"World Shaking!" Aaron's voice echoed through the parking lot as a bright gold sphere raced ahead of him, sending rock upwards at the still-approaching winged beast.  
The creature crossed his arms over his chest, his palms in front of his face. "Terra Assault!" He swung his arms towards the ground, two silver bolts erupting from his hands. They hit the earth with a loud crack as the ground ruptured on impact, two miniature earthquakes racing towards Aaron and Val with ever increasing speed. As the bolts neared them, the earth shook and exploded, showering them with rock and dirt.  
Meanwhile, Sailor Moon was losing the wrestling match badly. She had been turned onto her back and was now forced to protect the locket held on her bow.  
"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" From the far end of a parking lot, a bolt of electricity raced towards them and tore open the back of Sarah's shirt. Sailor Jupiter ran towards the pair and flipped the stunned young woman onto her back before pulling Sailor Moon to her feet.  
"I thought you were in class," she panted. "I left you a message."  
"It's kinda hard to miss a full out classic Sailor ass-kicking when you're on your way to the library," Jupiter answered. "What the hell is going on?"  
"I'll tell you later," she called, running for the Key she'd liberated seconds ago. "Just get that crazy bitch with the amulet away from Rini."  
"Rini?" Jupiter looked for an eight year old little girl in the vicinity, but instead saw a young woman her own age backed up against a car. "That's Rini?"  
"Just do something, damn it!"  
Doing something wasn't an option once Sarah came to her senses and launched herself at Jupiter, Val's dagger aimed at her neck. Knocked to the ground, Jupiter felt the edge of something cool and sharp begin to cut into her skin, and she let out a terrified scream. Just as suddenly as she'd been knocked down, she felt the weight lifted from her body and rolled over to see what had happened.  
The creature now held Jupiter's attacker by the shoulder with one massive claw. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw her against a nearby car. The dagger clattered to the ground as the large winged being pulled Sailor Jupiter to her feet and set her on the sidewalk by Rini. Her red eyes wide as saucers, Rini pressed herself against the brick of the apartment building and prepared to let out yet another scream. Before she could open her mouth, the creature placed a finger to his lips and gave her a grave nod, then took off towards the sky.  
The two who had attacked the creature had come to their senses and were carrying Sarah to a nearby car. The silver sedan sped off in a squeal of rubber, leaving the Sailors amidst the wreckage in front of the apartment complex.  
"Will someone tell me what's going on here?" Serena shrieked, melting back into her own clothing as she handed the Key to Rini. "What the hell was that?"  
"That is what caught me in the alley earlier," Rini babbled. "It just swooped in and kept me from landing in the middle of traffic."  
"That? It just saved me, but…" Mina's lower lip quivered as a few tears ran down her bruised cheeks. "It killed one of those guys, he's under the building."  
"But what is it? And is it on our side?" asked Serena.  
"I don't know," Lita replied, looking at the figures of the outer Senshi on the ground and the nearby demolished building. "Let's get them upstairs first and call Amy and Raye. We don't wanna be around when the police get here."  
   
Ian walked back into Dawn's flat, his shirt freshly ripped from his latest transformation. He was greeted with a surprisingly strong right hook that clipped his chin. Instinct took over at that point, and Dawn found herself slammed up against the wall with her wrists pinned above her, his face virtually pressed against hers. She could see he was sweating, but she couldn't work out how or why. At this point, she really didn't want to know. Terrified, she froze and stared up at Ian in shock.  
"Maybe I shoulda tied you up in there, too," he added, no expression on his face. Without warning, Dawn reared back and nailed him in the shins. He winced a bit, then started laughing.  
"What's so fuckin' funny?" she asked through clenched teeth. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was some kind of sick joke or if Ian had gone off the deep end. Considering the display during the physics lecture, she wasn't about to take any chances. "Didn't hurt?"  
"You aimed a bit low, don't you think?" He relaxed his hold on her wrists slightly, and Dawn took the opportunity to bring her forehead down against the front of his nose. Instantly, blood poured from his nose and he brought both hands up to his face. Dawn scrambled for the kitchen, grabbing the largest knife she could find as she pulled open the door to the freezer.  
"Don't you dare bleed on my rug," she called from the kitchen. She threw an ice pack at him, then walked towards him with the knife in front of her. "Take the ice, and get the fuck out of my apartment. Understand?"  
Ian looked at the ice pack and a confused expression crossed his face. "You bloodied my nose and threatened me with kitchen utensils, and now you're giving me ice to keep the swelling down? What is WRONG with you?" Ian continued to laugh despite the stream of red running from his nose.  
"Just get out, Ian. I'd rather not call the cops if I don't have to." Her voice trembled slightly as she stood her ground, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle of the knife.  
"You got a towel or something?"  
"I'm not that nice. Get out." 


	2. Episode 2 - Dark Legends

Half an hour later, they were all back in Serena and Mina's apartment. Raye and Amy had finally arrived as the other three had placed the unconscious Senshi on Mina's bed. Now, the girls sat in a circle on the floor of the living room. Luna and Artemis had witnessed the scene in the parking lot, and Luna had hinted that she might have an explanation for them. Much to Serena's dismay, she'd kept them waiting until everyone was together.  
   
"Come on Luna, don't keep us all in suspense!" Serena was whining again, as she had been for the past 15 minutes. Luna sighed and adopted her philosophical all knowing tone, padding to the center of the circle to voice her theory for the mayhem that had taken place.  
"I wasn't sure at first," Luna admitted. "Once they made mention of Miakoda, I knew what was going on."  
"You might have," Serena replied, "but we didn't. Could you please tell the rest of us what the hell is going on?"  
"Miakoda is, or rather was, the ancient goddess of the sea." Luna then spent the next five minutes telling them the legend of the water goddess and the beginnings of the Moon Kingdom.  
"I know that story." Rini sat in the corner, still in shock from the events of the afternoon. Her voice shook as she spoke. "Eos used to tell me it all the time, but she said they never got the spell to work."  
"Judging from the powers that girl had, I would guess that they somehow managed it." Luna frowned at the group, somewhat confused. "I don't know how that could be, since doing that requires a massive amount of energy, equal to the kind that each of you possess."  
"So we're fighting a god then? How in the hell are we going to kill an immortal?" Amy was the first to come up with a coherent sentence among the six girls sitting in the apartment.  
"She's not a god," replied Luna, a little surprised at Amy's tone and language. "She was a god, but she was stripped of her power and immortality by the three more powerful deities. From the look of it, the group that summoned her has the amulet, but they can't complete that resurrection of sorts without the crystal. As long as she doesn't have the crystal, she doesn't possess any kind of immortality, and you should be able to defeat her."  
"But what happened to Haruka, Hotaru and Michiru?" asked Raye.  
"I'm not sure, but I'd assume that they had their power stolen. There are tales of certain spells that can transfer the power of warriors into others, and it's possible that Miakoda has stolen their powers to give to her minions."  
"Okay, so that explains everything about the four weirdoes in the parking lot and what happened to the Outer Senshi, but what about that guy with the wings?" Serena asked, exasperated. "What comic book did he escape from?"  
Luna got a funny expression on her fuzzy face. "Well, I think he may be the first crown prince of… of…" She glanced nervously at Artemis, who looked like he was going to explode.  
"Come on, spit it out Luna!" chimed Artemis with enthusiasm  
"I think he is, or rather was Luciender, the first crown prince of Jupiter." For the first time in a long while, all of the girls were speechless.  
"What? I never knew Lita had a brother." True to her nature, Serena was the first to regain her power of speech. "To tell you the truth, I don't even remember her having parents!" Lita remained still, utterly stunned and shell shocked as Serena rambled. "And how do you explain those wings?"  
"You remember the death goddess Ciarazel?" Luna asked. "The one who helped Miakoda before she died?" The girls nodded in response as the small black cat continued. "Centuries later, as the old beliefs began to die, she waged war on the remaining followers of the ancient religion. She was eventually defeated, but in her retreat she pronounced a curse on the last legion of warriors who sent her back to her darker plane of existence. Those legions, the predecessors of the ruling family of Jupiter, were destined to live as kind of dark demon. As the line continued, the male children of the family could choose their form, living as either human or the dark winged creature that you saw earlier. The problem is, the power isn't like yours. It is innately evil, and it increases the testosterone and adrenaline output of the body tenfold. This means that if it is used, it almost always causes the user to lose control." Luna paused and looked at Lita. "You and your brother Luciender were the last descendants of Jupiter's royal family."  
"Then why didn't Lita ever tell us about them?"  
"This took place in the early days of the Moon Kingdom, before any of the Sailor Soldiers had been unveiled. Lita never knew him; none of you did." Luna sighed and rested her chin on her paws. "It was a terrible story. It took place two years after you were all born. Luciender was 17 at the time. He was a fine swordsman, and an even better sword smith. More importantly, he was a kind and intelligent young man who looked to be the perfect successor to Jupiter and its moons. An unforeseen attack by a renegade band of dark sorcerers upon the Earth led Serenity to send Jupiter's Royal Protectorate to aid in the battle. Luciender persuaded his parents to leave you, Lita, with Serenity safe on the Moon."  
"And that obviously worked, since she's here now," interrupted Serena. "Where are you going with all of this?"  
"Keep quiet and let me finish," Luna snapped. "A recent treaty had led Luciender to believe that Serenity would join them as soon as her forces were ready and together they would drive the sorcerers back to the far reaches of the galaxy. Unfortunately, a second battle on the Moon distracted Serenity's forces, keeping them from arriving to aid the Protectorate. The ambush on Earth resulted in a near-complete destruction of Jupiter's forces, including the King and Queen; however, Luciender survived. When the other allies of the Moon Kingdom caught up with him, Luciender had taken the head of the sorcerer responsible for killing his mother and father."  
"Ew," Serena replied with a funny sound. "That's a bit much, isn't it?"  
"Luciender wasn't the same after that battle," Luna continued. "Instead of joining the other allies on the Moon to celebrate the victory, he attempted to abduct Lita. It was clear he had neither the age nor maturity to care for an infant, so Serenity tried to take her back." She looked directly at Serena as she spoke. "There was a short struggle and Luciender nearly killed Serenity. The other members of the royal families subdued him and brought him to trial for treason. Most felt he should have been put to death for his attack on the Moon Kingdom."  
"Well, they obviously didn't kill him," Raye pointed out. "What did they do instead?"  
"They banished him. The remaining heads of the Moon Kingdom and its allies came together and sent him to the outer reaches of the galaxy. Serenity made sure any mention of Luciender was removed from history, and she brought his sister up to believe that she was the sole heir to the throne of Jupiter."  
"So, I have a brother…" Lita finally regained the ability to form a coherent sentence.  
"Yeah, a homicidal maniac who wanted to kill Serenity but failed," answered Raye in the most sarcastic tone she could muster. "Exactly the kind of qualities everyone looks for in a long lost family member." This comment was met with a fist in her jaw from Lita, flooring Raye and leaving the others astonished.  
Lita looked at her fist, then at Raye on the carpet. Realizing what she had done, she offered Raye a hand up. "I'm sorry," she immediately apologized. "I've never had family and I don't want anything to happen to him." Raye took the hand and sat up, too astonished to say anything else.  
"Then again, he might not be Luciender," Luna remarked casually. "It's just the only possible explanation I can come up with."  
"We have to find out," Lita pleaded. "Luna, could you try that mind meld thing on him?"  
"Perhaps. Where did he go?"  
Lita looked at the others sheepishly. "I dunno," she answered. "He just kind of took off after the fight. 'Up' probably isn't very descriptive."  
Mina got a funny look on her face. "Well, maybe we can ask Dawn if she saw anything. She lives upstairs on this side of the building."  
"Wouldn't hurt," Lita answered. "I'll go with you."  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
Dawn sat on her couch, knees drawn to her chin. She'd locked the door after Ian had left, keeping the knife on the coffee table near her. She didn't know how much time had passed, nor did she care. A bruise had started to show on her forehead, but she didn't bother doing anything for it. Once again, trust had gotten her in over her head. She'd been so lonely for the past week and Ian had been the first person who remotely resembled someone familiar. Unfortunately, he'd turned out to be an arrogant jerk with a mean streak, and she'd gotten the living hell scared out of her. Dawn had contemplated calling the police after he'd left, going so far as to pick up the phone and dial the first handful of numbers, but she'd hung up rather quickly. She didn't have any real evidence, but he had a bloody and possibly broken nose. The odds just weren't in her favor.  
And now she was out one perfectly good ice pack. Strangely enough, that's what annoyed her the most. Checking her watch, Dawn realized that she'd been sitting on the couch for over forty-five minutes. Somewhat chagrined, she got up, taking the knife back into the kitchen with her. Her stomach rumbled as she rummaged through the pantry, finally coming up with a box of macaroni and cheese dinner. Comfort food in a nifty blue box, it was the perfect thing to have after the day she'd experienced. Dawn got to boiling water and measuring ingredients, simple tasks taking her mind off of the events of the afternoon.  
A knock at the door startled her, sending a half-cup of milk to the formerly clean floor. Dawn looked to the front of her apartment, reaching for the knife. She took a few tentative steps towards the door. "Who is it?" No response. She repeated the same words in Japanese, a little louder.  
"It's Mina and Lita."  
Relieved, Dawn placed the knife on the counter and went to open the door. "Oh, hey there. Come on in." She stepped aside, letting the two girls in. "What's going on?"  
"Not much," Mina answered. "Um, there's milk all over your floor," she pointed out.  
"Yeah, I know. You kinda startled me." Dawn grabbed a dishtowel and started mopping up the mess. "You want to stay for dinner?"  
Lita sniffed and wrinkled her nose. "What are you making?"  
"Kraft mac 'n cheese," she answered with a grin.  
"I'll pass, thanks."  
Dawn looked to the blonde, who was staring out her balcony glass door. "What about you, Mina?"  
"Me? Oh, no thanks," she replied, checking the view. "Dawn, did anything funny happen this afternoon?"  
She didn't drop the milk this time, but she came damn near to it. "Funny? Um, no, nothing happened," she stammered. "Why do you ask?"  
"Well, there was this thing in the… er, something going on in the parking lot," Lita said carefully. "We didn't know what happened, we thought that you might have seen what was going on."  
"Nope, didn't see a thing." She stirred her dinner on the stove, hoping that they weren't looking at her as she spoke. Dawn had a hard time concealing emotions, and she didn't need anyone asking questions about stuff that had happened to her earlier.  
"You didn't hear anything?" Lita pressed.  
"Nope, had music going," she lied, gesturing to her stereo. "Why, did something happen outside this afternoon?"  
Lita and Mina exchanged glances. "Well," Lita began slowly. "Sort of."  
"There was a car wreck in the parking lot," Mina said quickly. "Rini thought she saw the guy who jumped her in the alley and freaked out. I didn't know if maybe you'd seen anything more."  
"Nope," Dawn answered truthfully. "How's she doing?"  
"Who?"  
"Rini. Serena's cousin, the one who ran into me headfirst this afternoon. Is she okay?"  
"Oh yeah, she's fine," Mina rushed. "She's staying with us for now. Oh hey," she said, suddenly thinking of something. "Rini's gonna start classes with us tomorrow. If you see her, could you keep an eye out for her?"  
Dawn shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so." Dinner looked about ready, so she spooned some into a bowl and turned the heat down on the stove. "You sure you don't want some?"  
"Yeah, we'd better get going anyways. Thanks, though." Lita headed towards the door, with Mina following her. "See you tomorrow, right?"  
"Of course," she said with a smile. "Later."  
Lita and Mina let themselves out and Dawn followed, locking the door behind them. As an afterthought, she walked to the balcony and looked out. She could see for a good five miles around her, including the edge of campus and the nearby shopping center. The setting sun cast a nice glow on the scene; granted, the pollution made it look even more colorful, but for the moment it was a nice effect. Dawn sighed and went to the couch, turning the television to one of the hundred movie channels she had. Clerks had just started, and she settled back against the pillows with a smile. Kevin Smith and blue box macaroni and cheese. With those two simple pleasures, her afternoon was somehow redeemed.  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
It was like a whisper, Val decided once they got back to her flat. Soft, suggestive purrs that permeated every thought and made her feel stronger. Once Sarah had brought the amulet and that Key together, the voice had grown louder, and Val hadn't had any objections to letting it wash over her and take control. It made everything else so easy, and she'd felt delightfully wicked the entire time it was going on.  
"What the fuck happened out there?" Aaron demanded, following her inside. "One minute we're following Sarah 'cause she's babbling in some crazy language, and the next thing I know, I'm tearing up concrete just by thinking about it. And does anybody else hear voices?" He knocked the side of his head with his hand. "Not like wanting to talk to you, but just giving you ideas?" He looked around at Sarah, who sat in a daze against the wall. "You hearing voices, too?"  
Sarah's green eyes were glazed over, and her mouth hung open slightly. Her tiny fingers clutched the amulet as her head tilted to the side, listening to the bodiless voice that had told her how to find the Crystal and what to say during the fight. "Shhh," she whispered. "Where's the book?"  
Val pointed at the table where the tome lay open to the page with the illustrations of the sacrifice. "Why? What do you need it for?"  
"We're supposed to look at the cover. The spot where the amulet used to be," she explained after a moment's consultation. "We have to hold it up to the light."  
Aaron pulled out his lighter from a deep pocket and joined Val at the table. Sure enough, when they held the book near the flame, they could make out the image of a demon in the recess where the amulet had been. "That's it! That's that thing that came out of nowhere and…" He trailed off, suddenly realizing for the first that Ryan was no longer with them. Strangely, the voice that had told him how to attack was now telling him not to worry about Ryan, that he wasn't of any importance now. Aaron shrugged and placed the lighter back in his pocket.  
"We're not supposed to be bothered with the other one anymore," Val said, almost reading his thoughts. "At least, that's what she's telling me."  
"She?"  
"Yeah, she," Val responded. "Why, you've got a 'he' telling you what to do?"  
"I guess. Okay, so we found the thing on the cover," Aaron called to his sister, who remained on the floor. "What next?"  
She tilted her head to the side, muttering under her breath. Her brow creased and she shook her head slightly before answering. "Find the same picture in the back of the book, and read the inscription under it."  
It took the two of them several minutes to find the image of the winged creature that had appeared in the alley that afternoon. It was hidden in a grotesque illustration that showed legions of soldiers caught in a violent fire as a beautiful woman stood in the flames, her hand outstretched as her black gown hung off her body in shreds. Her fingers pointed at the demon, a series of symbols etched beneath it. Aaron frowned and squinted at the faded picture. "Found it, but it's kinda hard to see. Besides, how the fuck do I know what it says?"  
"She says to listen," Sarah whispered, her eyes widening. "Listen and he will give you the words." She swallowed and licked her lips. "She, she wants to talk to you, Aaron," she said. "I don't know how she knows who you are, but she wants to talk to you. She says this way isn't working."  
"She?"  
"Miakoda. She says-" Sarah's body stiffened and she let out a soft moan as her eyes shut. Seconds later, a smile crossed her face and she lifted her chin to look at her brother. "Thou must listen," she hissed in that same disembodied tone they had heard earlier. "Listen and repeat the words."  
Not in any position to argue with a spirit that was now possessing his sister for the third time that day, Aaron leaned over the book and concentrated on the image and the symbols beneath it. True to what she'd said, the voice told him what each symbol said and prompted him as he read them aloud. "Here goes nothing," he began, clearing his throat. The sounds that came out of his mouth were nothing more to him than gibberish, but as he spoke, the image of the woman on the page grew dim and the flames around her appeared to dance. Aaron finished, and the symbols beneath the demon disappeared, replaced by a simple instruction. "Turn the page?" He read aloud. "Are we supposed to do what the book says?" He glanced at Val, who had her head tilted to the side, probably listening to her own voice. "Well?"  
"Follow thy instructions," the whisper came from Sarah's lips. "Listen and follow, and thou shalt know." Sarah's eyes closed and she took a few deep breaths, the color returning to her skin.  
"So we listen and follow," he repeated, turning the page. The first paragraph leapt out at him, not so much because it was written in a language that he could understand, but because it held a fairly personalized message.  
Thy sister is the vessel of the risen Miakoda. Guided by the High Priest Ayhan of Babylon, thou shalt be her keeper and protector until she completes the ancient task set upon her. The Holy Priestess Nirveli of Atlantis shall guide thy other companion, who shall also watch and guard the vessel of the Goddess.  
"You'd better read this," he said, gesturing to Val. "It's talking to me."  
She sat down next to him, her fingers passing over the text as she read it to herself. "So that's what her name is," she mused. "Interesting."  
"She didn't tell you?"  
"I didn't ask." Val's eyes scanned down to the next paragraph. "'And thou who has summoned the goddess must be advised by her ally in the plains of darkness, the eternal Ciarazel. Heed my words, and I will make thee great in the eyes of the gods.'" She arched an eyebrow at Aaron and licked her upper lip. "This is good shit, here. I think she's actually talking to us."  
"What, like now, as in at this moment?" Before his skepticism could get the best of him, that same suggestive undertone settled into the boundaries of his consciousness. It was now simply a matter of acceptance. "All right, so she's talking to us. What else does she have to say?"  
"'Thou hast seen my creation in thy dealings with the Keepers of the Crystal,'" she read aloud. "'Know that creature is but mortal and hath the curse of darkness upon him.' She means that demon thing…"  
"Will you just keep reading?" As Aaron listened to more and more of what Val read, the voice inside grew stronger, and he realized that he had no problem simply stepping aside and letting it speak for him. "Continue," it spoke, the smooth rich tone startling Val noticeably. She swallowed a few times before going on.  
" 'If thou wouldst seek to unite the Crystal and the Amulet, thou must first defeat the dark-winged creature. Know he shall weaken if thou doth persist, and then thou may use the powers of ancient Babylon and Atlantis to send his soul to me.' That's what those earth and water things are," she muttered to herself. "It's a test of endurance, I guess."  
"Thou art ever wise as thou art beautiful," came the voice from Aaron's lips.  
"That's the voice, isn't it," Val asked with a smirk. "Aaron's not one for compliments." She glanced down at the book again, reading the last few sentences. " 'Thou must learn of the Crystal and its Keepers, and I shall instruct thee in thy tasks. Serve thy goddess well, heed my words, and thou shall be rewarded with the powers of the ancients.' You mean, more than what we've got already?"  
"She says what you can do now is only a shadow of what she can make you do," Sarah gasped, her voice hoarse. "If we help Ciarazel with this demon creature she wants, then she'll help to free Miakoda." Her face contorted in a grimace, Sarah pulled herself to the couch. "You and Aaron have to find him. She says I have to stay here and get stronger."  
Val and Aaron watched as Sarah promptly passed out on the couch. "Well, she's useless," Val muttered. "So how do we find this demon creature," she asked aloud. "Or better yet, what do you mean by the 'curse of darkness?'" The pages blurred, and Val found the previous sentences replaced with a long history of what appeared to be a battle. Awed, she leaned over the book and began to read, the whispering voice answering her questions before she could voice them. Aaron leaned back and closed his eyes, able to hear each word Val read. Together, they sat in silence as Ciarazel instructed them in the ways of cult of Miakoda. 


	3. Episode 3 - An Impromtu Introduction

Ian yawned and stretched in the back row of the Math lecture theatre, the tiny seats keeping his over six-foot frame confined to a fairly uncomfortable position. There were about 300 people listening and taking notes in the class, keeping up with the countless number of equations and theories that flashed across the board at the front of the room. His own pad was somewhat empty with the exception of a few marks in the margins. That was the advantage of having already done 2 years of his computing course back home; doing the first year of the same course in another country was nothing. Instead of listening to the rest of the lecture, he decided a good look around was in order. Yesterday hadn't been completely devoid of jovial activity, although having his nose broken for the 8th time wasn't especially what he had been looking for. Why had she gone off like that? He shook his head and laughed to himself, a rare half-smile turning the corner of his mouth up. Silly bitch. He'd thought she'd understood his warped sense of humor, but she'd proven otherwise by bloodying his nose.  
"I'm sorry, but what's so funny?"  
Caught completely off guard, Ian jerked his neck violently to his left. A blue haired girl who had been late had slid into the chair next to him and he was sure he'd heard her mutter something about a Serena being a meatball headed lazy bitch. "Well?" she hissed.  
"Nothing, personal joke," he replied calmly. Man, this was one uptight little girl. "With one tight little ass too," he said aloud in English, and laughed again more loudly.  
"I didn't quite catch that. My English isn't very good… oh, English! Are you Ian by any chance?" Her voice was very smooth and sweet Ian couldn't help but notice.  
"Yes I am." He replied warily, looking at her face. Oh fuck, she's going to start screaming for the police if Dawn told her about last night. She didn't; instead, she smiled and bobbed her head in greeting.  
"Hi, I'm Amy. I think you met Mina yesterday; she's a friend of mine. She said something about having coffee with an English man named Ian and an American girl named Dawn."  
"Then my reputation precedes me. Nothing bad I hope." I really hope.  
"Oh no," she smiled up at him, still painstakingly pleasant. "She just told me she met you. Anyways, can I ask why you aren't taking any notes?"  
"I'm here on foreign exchange, so I'm two years through my course. This stuff is child's play." Amy nodded and went back to her notes. Ian slouched down in his chair again and found his train of thought again. Ah, yes. Dawn. He should probably find her and apologize at some point in the near future. The problem was what he could say – "Sorry but I've got a very sick sense of humor, oh yes and I find it hard to resist hormonal urges after turning into an 8 foot winged beast, hope we can still be friends though," didn't exactly make for a good reply. Fuck that for a game of soldiers. Besides he had bigger problems to handle. He had never decided what side he was on yesterday, or any day he'd made an appearance in his alternate form. Was he a good monster, a strong proud protector of the innocent? Sure, that was what he did yesterday and every other time he had gotten involved as DarkWing, but… was it his responsibility? Surely not, but those chicks in the funny-looking uniforms took quite a pasting until he was able to lend a hand. He wondered if he should actively seek them in order to help out… A light tap on his shoulder broke Ian's train of thought. "Whafuck?"   
Amy laughed, a little giggle that she instantly hid with her hand. "Um, could I get past now?"   
Ian looked around and saw that everyone was leaving. "Oh, sure. Sorry, I was somewhere else completely," he said as he shook his head. Ian stood and allowed her to pass, a thought coming to him. "By the way, do you know where I could find Dawn?"  
"No, but she might be with Mina. I'm meeting her now, you can come if you want." Ian nodded and walked behind her. He kept a few steps back, watching her lower half as she weaved in and out of the crowd. It wasn't a bad view, as far as he was concerned. He could definitely follow it for a while.  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
"I'm not going to let this affect me, I'm a better person than that." Dawn's new mantra was almost working now. While it had taken about 500 repetitions, she was pretty sure that yesterday's incident was behind her. As long as that English creep stayed away, she'd be fine. Sadly, fate wasn't going to be kind today; she just didn't know it yet.  
She had gone into college with Mina, Serena, and Rini, who still hadn't apologized for running her down the previous day. Still, yesterday didn't happen in her mind, so today was new and good. They'd helped Rini enroll that day, with Serena being pretty pissed and snapping at the poor girl all morning. Dawn assumed they had some kind of family problem, and she wasn't about to get involved in anything of that nature. The others all had a lecture coming up in a few minutes, but they were waiting to talk to a girl called Amy who was finishing up a Calculus lecture. The doors to the building swung open, and the other three girls turned to look for their friend. Dawn's head turned as well… oh fuck. Any and all confidence brought on by the sentence she'd been saying all morning ran down her spine and out through her toes. That bastard was coming her way, walking with some blue haired wench. From the look of his face, she had busted his nose but he'd reset it. The resulting black eye didn't exactly help his already threatening image, and Dawn stepped back from the group to avoid him.  
"Hi guys," Amy chirped, the girls greeting her with the same degree of enthusiasm. Ian walked around the group and over to Dawn, lowering his voice and switching to English so no one would notice.  
"I have to speak to you."  
"Fuck off." It was rude, but in the same discrete fashion. She wasn't sure if she could maintain it for long.  
"Look, I really should explain…"  
"Explain what? That you're a psychopath?" Dawn hissed through her teeth, not wanting to cause a scene. "Just get the fuck away from me, Ian."  
He looked at her, her eyes no longer bright but cold and angry. "Okay, I'll let you calm down first." He switched back to Japanese, replying to some idle chitchat from the girls in his usual mono syllabic disinterested way. From where she stood, Dawn shot him a dirty look, noticeably antagonized by his response.  
"Hello, girls." A tall woman with long green hair came up behind Dawn and greeted the group. Her tone wasn't exactly hostile, but she seemed relatively annoyed about something. Rini nearly jumped out of her skin as the woman spoke, and the other girls recoiled. What she did next baffled the entire group; she turned to Dawn with a half-smile and looked her over once before speaking to her. "I'd like to see you later. Your last lecture finishes at 2 this afternoon, so I'll meet you outside."  
"But how does Plu-OW!" Serena rubbed the spot on her stomach where Rini had elbowed her. "What? You know, I told you…" She trailed off as she saw their new companion staring at Ian in shock.  
"L – L – Luciender? W – what, er, um, how are you here?" She swallowed and looked over at the rest of the girls, who were now regarding Ian with the same slack-jawed expression of bewilderment.  
"HI. I AM IAN." He spoke loudly and condescendingly without any sign of emotion, then chuckled and offered his hand to the green haired woman. She took it, shaking noticeably. "Well, you know how to kill a good thing, huh? Anyways, I got a lecture in minute, so nice to meet you all." With that, he turned and headed into a nearby building. The girls grabbed the green haired woman, Serena leaning over to Dawn with an embarrassed grin.  
"Um, sorry, but we gotta go. See you later, right?" She didn't wait for a response, running after the group as Dawn was left alone, dumbfounded and a little shaken. Who was Ian then, if some stranger that those girls knew could pick him out of a crowd? She checked her watch and sighed, realizing that she had an hour to kill before her last class of the day. And why the hell does some stranger want to meet me after class? She sighed audibly and set off towards the library, fully intending to forget about the past twenty four hours through the joys of materials theory. Maybe there, she'd finally start to be a normal student and have a normal day.  
Heh, normal. First time in her life she'd wished for that.  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
The last thing that Raye had expected that afternoon was an impromptu visit by the rest of the gang. Not that she didn't appreciate the company; since the rest of them had started school, she'd been a bit lonely at the temple. Still, as she swept the leaves and dirt from the steps for the nineteenth time that day, seeing the five girls accompanied by Setsuna sent a chill down her back. After yesterday's meeting, she had come back to the temple and finished her usual daily tasks. The last hours before bed had been spent at the fire, where Raye had tried to get a better feeling of what had happened that afternoon and what the following days might bring. The resulting image she'd seen had confused her; seeing another set of flames within the fire wasn't exactly clear. Raye had dealt with plenty of obscure visions in her time, but seeing fire inside fire didn't make any sense. Maybe she'd been sweeping too much these days.  
"Have you had lunch yet?" Serena, thinking with her stomach, greeted Raye from the bottom of the stairs. "We, um, kinda had our plans interrupted." She tilted her head towards Pluto, who had remained behind them talking to Rini for most of their walk.  
"What's she doing here?" Raye whispered as the other four girls climbed the last group of stairs up to the temple. "Is it because of Rini, or does it have something to do with all that stuff yesterday?"  
"We don't know," Amy replied. "She hasn't said anything to us since we met Lita on the train and came over here. Rini's in serious trouble, I bet." Amy glanced back at their pink-haired companion, who was squirming uncomfortably as Setsuna talked to her in a hushed tone. Whatever Rini had done to get back to Tokyo, Pluto had seen it as reason to step away from her usual obligations and pay the girls a visit. Amy could only assume that there was more going on than just a simple case of Rini using the Crystal Key for a joyride, and that they'd have to play Sailor Senshi again. The idea annoyed her more than just a little bit. She was all ready to start at the university, get her pre-med finished a few years early, and then have her pick of med schools once she graduated. Now… well, this was going to cut into her study time, and that just kind of pissed her off.  
Raye sighed audibly and looked at the group, who all wore similar expressions of concern and confusion. "All right," she finally replied. "I think we can pull something together in the kitchen. Come on in and let's see what we've got to do this time. At least it's more exciting than sweeping these damn steps."  
   
Neither Rini nor Lita ate much. Rini picked at her food while Lita simply stared at her hands in her lap. None of them were too interested in eating, with the exception of Serena who devoured her sandwich in what might have been record time. After a few minutes of relative silence, Setsuna cleared her throat and stood up, brushing her hair away from her face as she did so.  
"All right, let's start with the obvious things," she began. "I assume Luna's told you about the legend associated with the ancient cults of the Moon and the creation myths regarding Atlantis. Is that correct?" The girls nodded, and Pluto continued. "And you know that Rini's here on her own, not because I sent her?"  
"Yeah," Serena answered. "I'm making a mental note to ground her in the future for this one."  
Setsuna looked to the ceiling, the "why me?" evident on her face. "And from the way you four reacted earlier, I guess you know who Luciender is. Did Luna explain that to you as well?"  
"Yeah, she said he was Lita's older brother," Mina replied. "She told us that he was banished because he almost killed Queen Serenity, but..."  
"But what?"  
Mina chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Shouldn't he be older? I mean, Luna said this guy was a soldier when Lita was a baby. How could he be our age?"  
"Our age?" For the first time since she'd met up with the rest of the group, Lita spoke. "How do you know how old he is? You've only seen him once."  
Serena shook her head. "Nuh-uh, we've seen him twice, and you're not gonna believe this. We know who he really is, like everyday, average guy on the street." Lita went as white as a sheet while Serena kept running her mouth. "You know Mina's friend, Donna?"  
"Dawn," Mina automatically corrected. "It's Dawn, and Lita met her the same day that you did."  
"Right, whatever," Serena continued. "Anyways, she's got this friend Ian, this guy from England who's kinda scary-looking, but kinda cute, if you go for that whole psycho serial killer look. Personally, I think he's creepy, and he doesn't talk all that well, but…"  
"He's not that bad," Amy jumped in. "I was talking to him in class, and he seemed all right. A little quiet and somewhat reserved, but he didn't seem all that bad."  
Setsuna passed a hand over her forehead. She'd hoped they'd grown out of this once they'd graduated from high school, but evidently, she'd been mistaken. "Regardless of this young man's normal demeanor, his personality and behavior as Luciender are not something to be taken lightly. The demon form he can assume brings with it some fairly serious side effects."  
"Like what? He didn't say much when he helped us out, and he's never hurt any of us," Mina said. "What kind of side effects are you talking about?"  
"Using the demon form keeps him from adequately controlling his reactions," she answered. "There are several psychological and chemical changes that take place, but let's suffice to say that he isn't able to control his instincts if he's provoked or attacked when he's in that form, or for some time after the change takes place."  
"But he's still on our side, isn't he?" Serena asked.  
"I don't think he knows what sides exist," Setsuna said, walking to on of the windows. "Lita, did he try and protect you during that fight in the parking lot?"  
"Well, yeah. He didn't attack any of us, just those freaks who tried to attack Rini and Serena." She looked over at Mina. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"  
"No," she responded. "He chased one guy out of the alley and…" Mina swallowed, glancing up at Setsuna. "He killed one of them," she whispered. "I mean, he just threw him against a wall and the guy's neck broke and –"  
"I get the idea," Setsuna interrupted. "That's what I mean. He can't control his reactions, and until he's aware of his role and who he is in relationship to the rest of you, you need to be incredibly careful around him. Understood?" The six girls nodded in unison. "All right," she sighed. "Now, there's the matter of Eos."  
"Eos?" Rini squeaked. "What's wrong with Eos? You aren't going to bring her here, are you?"  
"Excuse me," Raye cut in. "Who, or what, is Eos? Another demon?"  
"She's not a demon," Rini answered in a condescending tone. "She's anything but a demon. She's my Guardian."  
"Your what?" Serena gave her future daughter a puzzled look. "What do you need a Guardian for? She still has parents in the future, doesn't she?" she asked Setsuna.  
"Of course she does," replied Setsuna with as much patience as she could muster. "Still, they aren't around all the time, and someone's got to look after her and protect her. That's what the Guardian does."  
"There's only one?" Mina asked. "Or does everybody have their own?"  
More explanations. She needed a vacation from this gig. "There's one in the future, but the Guardian is descended from the bloodline of the last priestess of Babylon. As a result, the task of the Guardian is passed from generation to generation, ensuring that there is always someone with the ability to protect the Moon Kingdom from threats on the Earth. Does that make any sense?" The confused expressions on the five faces of the original Sailors indicated that they didn't completely understand Setsuna's quick explanation.  
"So, this Guardian is always around? It's a different person, but with the same abilities?" Amy finally spoke, her brow furrowed. "And it's this person's job to protect the Moon Kingdom?"  
"It's her job to protect the keeper of the Crystal," Setsuna explained. "Since Rini technically guards the Crystal Key, the Guardian protects her."  
"What about me?" Serena protested. "Don't I get any protection? Last time I checked, I was the one making sure that nobody got their paws on the Silver Crystal."  
Raye rolled her eyes. "Serena, that's our job," she pointed out. "The rest of us cover your ass when you can't fend for yourself, or don't you remember the couple hundred times that's happened?" Serena said nothing but folded her arms across her chest and pouted.  
"Raye's correct," Setsuna answered. "Eos has been with Rini ever since she was born, so Rini knows her."  
"So why don't you just bring her here, like you and Rini got here?" Mina asked. "Can't you do that?"  
"I can't just bring the Sailors of the future here to fight your battles," she said, becoming exasperated. "Same goes for the Guardian. I have to find the descendant of the priestess of Babylon and 'enlighten' her, for lack of a better word."  
"Won't that take a while?"  
"Not really," she shrugged.   
"Are you going to stay and help us, too?" Lita asked in a hopeful tone.  
"I can't," she said sadly. "There are limits to what I can do in the past. I wish I could. Take care, girls."  
"But what about Luciender, er, I mean, Ian?" Lita continued. "How do we tell him?"  
"You don't. I'll take care of that as well."  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
Dawn had been very shaken by the meeting that morning, but her afternoon was shaping up to be a little better. For one thing, she hadn't seen Ian since the 'incident' with the rest of the girls. She'd spent a good half hour sitting in the library, waiting for him to sneak around a corner or come up next to her. Of course, he'd never even set foot inside, but she figured that a little paranoia couldn't hurt at this point. She hadn't seen the others either all afternoon, and in one last stroke of luck her last lecture had finished 15 minutes early. She had waited for five minutes at the door, telling herself that she had to satisfy her curiosity. After three minutes and fifteen seconds, she lost her nerve and decided that she'd go home and phone Mina, tell her she was sick, and couldn't possibly meet her friend. Fitting both straps of her backpack over her shoulders, Dawn set off for her apartment building.  
   
Aaron and Val had been to classes and lectures that day, their "voices" keeping silent the entire time. If it wasn't for the fact that Ryan was dead, or the scrapes and bruises each of them sported, they would never have known the previous day was anything other than a dream. They started off towards home, finished for the day and somewhat anxious to return to Sarah and the book. It took almost a half hour to get there and they had to walk the length of the campus… not that it mattered much. Whatever kind of energy they had absorbed during their previous encounter felt so good. The feeling of something almost raw and electric beneath the skin, fueling and enhancing every though and movement. Aaron swore he could run a marathon and then fuck all night without stopping.   
"I know what you mean," Val answered, her eyes looking forward. "I've never felt like this before. This sensation, it's just … invigorating."  
Aaron glanced at her lips, which hadn't moved. He panicked slightly, wondering if he'd finally flipped. It was Val's voice, it had to be.  
It is she, the already familiar tone interrupted. Thy companion and thou doth share a common bond. Rather than question it, Aaron simply accepted it. It was easier and easier to slip into that warm comfort of acceptance, where he didn't have to think about his actions or attempt an explanation. Things just were and that was enough.  
Val's face contorted slightly, and she grabbed at her scarred hand. At that same moment, Aaron felt his chest burning, the mark from yesterday pulsing beneath the surface of his skin. "The Crystal," she hissed, glancing around. "It's nearby."  
The voice told him to follow the pulse, that it would lead them to the Crystal. Aaron, with his hand over his chest, and Val, with her arm outstretched, paused for a split second before taking off towards the center of the campus. In their haste, they knocked over a brown haired girl; neither heard her profane response, something about people in this country not looking where they're going. Concentrated on their goal, nothing else mattered. The two rounded a corner and stopped abruptly; standing in the shade of a large building, the pink haired girl, the target, spoke with a young woman who appeared to be waiting for someone. Without a moment's hesitation, Aaron lunged forward and threw his hands across his chest in a sweeping motion.  
"World Shaking!" Aaron's voice thundered as a bright golden light surged forward, splitting the concrete and separating the target from her friend. The green-haired woman fell back beneath a shower of dirt and gravel as Val took her place next to Aaron.  
"Deep Submerge!" From the place where the concrete had broken apart, a wall of water rose up and swept the girl into the side of the building. As the wave washed over the stone, there was a muffled scream and a flash of light. When the water cleared, Aaron and Val stared in shock at the figure of the same pink haired girl, now sporting a sailor suit and crouched in a fighting stance.  
"She's the same one," Aaron panted, racing forward. "We need that Key." He brought his hands up for a second attack, preparing to let fly with yet another storm of rock. The Sailor leapt towards him with a loud yell, the heel of her pink boot slamming into Aaron's breastbone and driving him to the ground. Val launched herself ahead with an ungodly shriek, tackling the surprised girl and slamming her against a nearby bench. The two girls wrestled each other to the ground, Val finally getting to her feet and hauling her opponent to a standing position. As the yelling, screeching, and inevitable hair-pulling continued, Aaron stood back up and borrowed a trashcan from a nearby. In a fit of malicious glee, he dumped the container and its contents onto the girl's head, encasing her entire upper body in thick hard plastic. Val reared back and promptly slugged the girl in the solar plexus, dropping her like a carnation sack of potatoes. Kicking her over with his foot, Aaron bent down to retrieve the Key.  
Something solid clocked him in the back of the head, sending him sprawling across the girl in the trashcan. Val soon joined him, the edge of an Introduction to Materials Theory textbook leaving a nasty mark on her chin inches from her throat. Aaron flipped over, expecting to see the green haired woman standing above him. Instead, the girl they had knocked over on their way to the fight had decided to get involved. Both fists up and teeth bared, she stood waiting as he pulled himself up. The voices were getting louder, and he had had about enough of this crap for today. The last thing he needed was yet another whiny argumentative bitch to get in the way of his task.  
Dawn stood her ground, waiting for one of them to come charging at her. The guy she'd attacked with her textbook had stood up and was slowly walking towards her, leaving the other girl on the ground. Both of his hands came up, and with a loud yell he released a ball of energy that skidded towards her, tearing up the brick and concrete in the process. Chunks of rock the size of baseballs hurtled towards her, showering her with a spray of earth and gravel. The blast knocked her off her feet, her denim shorts offering little protection against the rough ground as she skidded to a stop. Coughing, she squinted at the figure of the girl she'd knocked over, who was standing in front of her companion as an eerie blue nimbus surrounded her.  
Val didn't care about the girl with the Key anymore. The entity that had told her to follow the Crystal now forced her attentions to the girl lying in the rubble next to the sidewalk. The Guardian. Thou must silence the Guardian. Aaron stood beside her, an ugly grimace on his face. Her palm throbbed, and she brought her hands to the skies, summoning an enormous tsunami from where she stood. Her words combined with the voice she'd obeyed, producing a mighty echo as the wave raced ahead through the cloud of dust. "Deep Submerge!"  
Lifting her head, Dawn scrambled to her feet at the sight of the giant wall of water surging towards her. She turned and tried to run, but stumbled as the icy weight forced her to the ground. Rock and debris pressed against her, tumbling over her limp body as the water rushed towards a nearby building. Dawn fought to reach the top of the wave, gulping air with water in an attempt to stay alive. Each time she could take a breath, the waters drug her back down into the darkness. As the waves closed over her head once more, she felt herself smack against something solid. Her lungs screaming for air, she clawed her way up towards the light as the water continued to press her against the wall. The instant she felt the cool air on her face, the waters stopped and the waves subsided, leaving her clinging to nothing as her body fell away from the wall. Her screams resulted in nothing more than a gargled vomit of water, and she closed her eyes in anticipation of a very painful impact. Dawn figured that she had about ten seconds before she hit the ground and either died or sustained injuries from which she would surely die later, and she didn't want to see any of it. About five seconds later, she felt something hit her, hard enough to cause a bit of pain but nothing like hitting asphalt. For that matter, she felt like she was moving forward. Begrudgingly, she opened one eye to see a stony blue-grey face on a giant with wings. Too terrified to scream, she shook and whimpered as the creature drew nearer to the ground. It dropped her a few feet above the grass, and Dawn fell next to the green haired woman. Soaking wet and terrified of the creature that had caught her, she choked out a simple question. "Why aren't you helping?"  
"I can't. My hands are tied in affairs such as these," she replied matter-of-factly.  
"What do you mean, you can't? What the hell does that mean?" At this point, Dawn was beginning to think that she would be a perfect match for Ian. The temperament was already rubbing off.  
The monster landed in front of Aaron and Val, giving Rini time to pull herself out of the trashcan. The edge of his mouth twitched; it was a tiny movement, but enough for Aaron to know that time was up. "Fuck this, let's get out of here!" Unsure if he was talking telepathically or out loud, he knew Val could hear him as she took off after him. Given what that thing did to Ryan in front of his eyes, he didn't want to know what other tricks it could do.  
   
"Luciender," Setsuna called as the creature turned to leave. Its head spun towards her, dark eyes narrowed.  
That's what she called me earlier… but how could she know it's me? Not wanting to stay, he turned to leave once more when a hand grasped his forearm. Roaring, he threw Setsuna violently to the ground. A few feet away, Dawn was emptying her stomach as her wet clothes clung to her bruised body. Rini, back in her normal clothing, had backed a fair way off as well.  
"I don't know who you think I am, but I am not Luciender," he growled. "I am DarkWing, and if you want to stay alive…" He walked towards Setsuna and placed his face less than an inch from hers. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" With that warning, he turned and leapt into the air, spreading his massive wings as he flew off. Dawn collapsed on the grass, shivering and crying softly as Rini promptly fainted where she stood. Setsuna looked helplessly between the two and wondered about what she had told the others. Perhaps none of it was possible after all. 


	4. Episode 4 - What's an Eos?

"Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" Dawn slid the door shut behind her, startling the group of girls who sat on the floor of the Cherry Hills Temple. She'd dried off and helped herself to a bunch of bandages and Neosporin in the bathroom beforehand. Now, she was determined to get some kind of an explanation out of someone in the temple before she went home, curled up in bed, and tried once again to forget about the events of the day. Dawn turned to Mina, who regarded her with wide blue eyes. "You have any idea as to why I just got attacked by a couple of renegade teenagers before being rescued by some dark demonic angel? Is there something about this campus that you didn't tell me?"  
"Well, I…" Mina stammered, taken aback.  
"That's my job, not hers," Setsuna interrupted. "Look, I'm very sorry about what went on earlier…"  
"And you," Dawn continued, jabbing a finger in the older girl's direction. "Who are you, how do you know who I am, and why do you need to talk to me so badly?"  
Unfazed, Setsuna extended a hand towards her. "Setsuna Meiou," she introduced herself. She waited as Dawn eyed her suspiciously, then shook her hand.  
"Dawn Connolly." She stuck her thumbs in the side pockets of her shorts, her head tilted to the side as she regarded Setsuna. "One down, two to go."  
"Very true." She motioned to Rini, who got up and walked over to them. "I take it you've met Rini already?"  
"Yeah, full force against the sidewalk yesterday actually," she answered, her voice edged with sarcasm. Dawn pointed to her knee where the scrape had scabbed over. "Proof's right here."  
"Sorry." Rini spoke to the floor, still somewhat traumatized after the events of the past day and a half.  
"Question for you." Rini looked up at Dawn in reply. "Do you run around like a Saturday morning cartoon all the time, or only on special occasions?"  
"She is related to Eos, isn't she?" Rini folded her arms across her chest and eyed Dawn. "Same sense of humor."  
"Eos? What's an Eos?" Dawn looked over at Setsuna, who had laughed at the cartoon comment. "What's she talking about?"  
"I think you'd better just show her."  
"Show me what?" Dawn glanced around the room to see where the voice had come from. "Who said that?"  
"I did." Luna had crept inside, sitting next to Serena and Amy. "Just explaining the entire Guardian concept might take too long." She turned to Dawn and regarded her coolly. "Yes, I can speak."  
Dawn blinked a few times, staring at the small black cat that had just addressed her. "Um, okay," she replied slowly. "Pleasure to meet you, I think." She turned back to the green-haired woman, suddenly wondering if studying abroad had been the best thing to do. "Exactly what were you going to show me?"  
Setsuna produced a small transformation wand from the pocket of her skirt and held it aloft. "Pluto Planet Power, Make Up!"  
Dawn's eyes grew wide as the woman swept the wand in front of her, creating a wall of light as her body slowly spun. She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the light as it grew brighter, the silhouette of a woman visible through the aura. As she slowly spun in a circle, her clothing melted away to reveal a white leotard. A dark green skirt and sailor collar shimmered into view, and a large bow appeared on her chest. Knee high green boots covered her feet, and a gold circlet formed itself on her forehead. White gloves enveloped her hands and forearms. Finally, a large staff resembling a slender key seemed to grow from her palm. The light dimmed, leaving Sailor Pluto standing in the middle of the room. Dawn stared, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Holy shit," she managed in English. "That's pretty cool."  
Pluto frowned. The rest of the girls had been fairly upset the first time they'd seen her transform. Instead, Dawn was enthralled. "That's one way to describe it," she replied evenly.  
"Who are you, anyways?" Dawn asked skeptically. "Your real name isn't Setsuna, is it?"  
"In this day and age, it is," Pluto answered. "Sailor Pluto works as well. Now, if you could stand here," she motioned to a spot next to her, "we can get this started."  
"Get what started? And what was that Eos thing you mentioned?"  
"I'm getting to that. Could you just stand here, and raise your hands above your head?"  
"Do what?" Dawn folded her arms across her chest, instantly on her guard. "I'm not doing a single thing until you tell me what the hell is going on, and how you just…" she gestured to Pluto. "Did that."  
"You're the Guardian, Sailor Eos, you're entrusted with protecting the Princess of the Moon Kingdom, the keeper of the Crystal Key, and you're a direct descendent of the last priestess of Babylon." Pluto paused for a breath, watching Dawn's face as the phrases registered. "Now, hands above your head." In a daze, Dawn did as she was told. "All right, now repeat after me: Dawning Sky Power, Make Up."  
"You've got to be kidding."  
"Could you just humor me? It's been a rough day."  
"This is so stupid," she muttered in English. "Dawning Sky Power, Make Up!" As the last syllable escaped her lips, Dawn felt her fingertips grow warm and her arms grow heavy. She tilted her head back to see a rosy orb forming between her hands, the center of it darkening to deep lavender as it grew larger. Dawn dropped her hands to her sides, her eyes wide at the sight of what she'd created. The sphere hung above her for a second, then dropped to the ground, encasing her in a soft glowing cocoon. She felt her body spinning, and her clothing melted away to leave her somewhat exposed for a brief moment. Fabric began to cover her more sensitive areas, and something cool and metallic fastened about her forehead. The light subsided, leaving her standing in front of the girls in an outfit not unlike Pluto's, yet inherently trendier. Trembling, she turned to the older woman who stood there smiling.  
"Well? Believe me now?" Pluto leaned against her staff as Dawn examined her outfit. "It's a little different than the usual design that the rest of the girls wear, but that's the standard Guardian outfit."  
What she wore hardly seemed standard. Instead of the white sailor outfit, Dawn sported a snug silver top edged in deep purple. The cutout across her cleavage allowed for some bit of air conditioning, but that was the least of her problems. The skirt she wore was entirely too short for her liking, and the black boots had a bit of a heel to them. The fingerless gloves were a nice touch, though. Dawn flexed her fingers, admiring the black leather. "Guardian, huh? What exactly am I guarding?"  
"Me." Rini leaned against the wall, eyeing Dawn. "As Sailor Eos, you're supposed to protect me."   
Dawn stared at the pink haired girl in disbelief, then back at Pluto. "You're not serious, are you? Her? That klutz, a princess?"  
Rini's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to be nasty about it," she snapped. "I'm just telling you how it is."  
Dawn chewed the side of her lip, one eyebrow skyward. "Riiiight," she replied slowly. "So it's up to me to guard the princess." She gave Rini a saccharine-sweet smile as she spoke. She didn't like the girl's attitude, and she wasn't about to entertain any amount of bowing and scraping to her just because of some silly title. "What else?"  
Pluto shrugged. "That's it. As long as she's here with the Crystal Key, it's up to you to protect her." She stood up straight and stretched her hands above her head. "Since Rini's aware of your inherent abilities and powers, she'll help you develop them and use them. Understand, Rini?"  
"I guess," she answered sullenly.  
"And I expect the rest of you to aid in Eos' training as well." The other five girls nodded in agreement. "Well then, I guess that's taken care of…"  
"Whoa, hold on a minute," Dawn interrupted. "Nothing's taken care of, 'cause I don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. Do you mean that they're all Sailors too?"  
"Yes."  
"And they're supposed to train me?"  
"Yes."  
"So where are you going?"  
Pluto gave an exasperated sigh. "Back to where I belong. Can you accept that I'm not from this time?"  
"Yeah, I can do that. Can you answer one more question for me?" Hands on hips, Dawn wasn't about to let this woman go anywhere without knowing one more thing.  
"Perhaps."  
Dawn looked around the room at the rest of the girls again before speaking. "Back on campus, you called Ian 'Luciender.' During that whole thing with the tidal wave and the rocks and stuff, you called that big demon thing 'Luciender' as well, didn't you?" Pluto frowned, but Dawn kept going. "You mean that Ian and that creepy winged monster are one in the same?"  
"In a matter of speaking, yes." Brushing a bit of her hair away from her face, she regarded Dawn coolly. "For your safety, you might want to keep your distance from him for the time being. He doesn't have the same amount of control over his actions in his demon form."  
Arms folded across her chest, Dawn eyed the Guardian of Time with one eyebrow cocked skyward. "Well, that explains a few things for me," she replied, the sarcasm dripping from each word. "Is he on our side at least?"  
"I think so," she replied slowly, her tone unsure. "It might take some time, but I'm pretty sure that he's not against us."  
"Just because he's not against us doesn't mean that he's with us, either," Dawn pointed out. "And from what went on back at campus, I don't think he really wants to be."  
"Us?" A smile played on Pluto's face. "You're including yourself?"  
"I don't have much choice," Dawn pointed out. "For all I know, you could wave that staff of yours and change me into a talking cat. No offense," she added, looking at Luna.  
"None taken," the cat responded. "And she does have a point about his loyalties," she continued. "I'd offer my services, but..."  
"But what?" She still found it difficult to believe that she was carrying on a conversation with a cat, much less while dressed in some crazy costume.  
"Well, we need him in order for me to do that." Luna laid her head on her paws and sighed. "At this point, getting him here seems wholly unlikely. His demeanor as Luciender, er, DarkWing isn't exactly cooperative."  
"He's not much better on a regular day," Dawn replied dryly. She glanced around the room at the faces of her new friends, who offered her small smiles in return. "Look," she sighed. "You guys talk with the Rabbit over there, and figure out how to train me by tomorrow. I'll get Ian to my apartment tomorrow evening, and you guys come along with…" She stopped, frowning. "What's your name?"  
"Luna."  
"Figures. How does that sound?" No one objected to the impromptu plan she'd proposed, so Dawn turned back to Pluto. "Problem resolved. Now, one more thing before you go…"  
"What?" Pluto snapped, entirely fed up with Eos' stubborn and outspoken attitude.  
"How the hell do I get out of this outfit?"  
   
As Pluto led Dawn and Rini outside, the rest of the girls waited for the door to shut before saying anything. Mina spoke first, a smile creeping across her face. "This is just too funny," she giggled. "I can't believe it! I mean, how much better could this get? Who'd have thought that Rini's Guardian would have been this easy to find?"  
"Better?" Lita snapped, getting to her feet. "Funny? Yeah, this is real funny, having a long lost brother who doubles as a…" She trailed off, searching for an adequate description.  
"Half-demon?" Amy offered.  
"Exactly," Lita answered. "I'm related to some deranged half-demon who just happens to exist as a sullen and withdrawn Brit exchange student, but I can't say or do anything about it." With a sigh, she turned to the rest of the girls. "Look, I'm gonna head home and get some sleep or something. I gotta sort this all out in my head somehow."  
"But Lita…" Serena began, concerned.  
"I'll be okay," she shrugged. "Just need some time to myself, that's all."  
"And what about Luciender?" Raye reasoned.  
"What about him?" Lita opened the door, her shoulders sagging as if they held the weight of the world. "It's not like I can do anything, can I?"  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
It would have made an interesting headline… or perhaps an interesting blurb on the back page beneath a furniture advertisement. "Young Man Found Dead on Streets of Tokyo; Heart Rips Through Chest of Own Accord." Ian wondered if it was actually possible; he'd never used his alternate form so many times in a few days, or for such long periods of time. His chest felt as if it might burst with each step, and sweat poured from his forehead. Passing people on the darkened street, Ian fought the temptation to reach out and pull a helpless faceless bystander to the ground. Primal urges surfaced and subsided, the blood pounding in his temples and making him dizzy. His shirt and jacket long gone, Ian began running towards the park near campus, the light from a full moon casting his shadow ahead of him. He'd discovered the park his first night in Tokyo, walking back from a solitary dinner. For over an hour, he'd stood at the railing of the bridge that overlooked the water, calmed by the combination of water and night. While something had been missing from that first night, it still managed to calm him and bring some order to his first night in an unfamiliar place. Now, the full moon lit the surface of the water, the serene setting a stark contrast to the chaos of emotions that threatened to break loose from within him. Ian slowed to a fast walk and made his way beneath the trees and past a few benches to the edge of the bridge that crossed the river.  
   
I'm still alone. I have a brother, and I'm still alone. Lita leaned against the railing, staring down at her reflection in the water. Ten feet below, the image of a pretty brunette with bright green eyes shimmered as a tear made a perfect ripple on the surface of the river. She couldn't understand why someone would keep something as important and intimate as family from her. Even worse, she couldn't understand why she didn't remember anything about him. Something should have remained, some kind of feeling or sense that would have kicked in when she'd seen that creature the first time. Lita wiped her face and raised her head, the quiet scene of the park motionless in the moonlight. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the cool night air, feeling completely safe in the night above the water. It was her solace, her place where she could simply stare at the water and think, and attempt to sort out the hows and whys that plagued her every thought.  
   
There was someone on his bridge. Ian swore softly and moved closer, making out the silhouette of a young girl leaning against the side of the bridge. No one was supposed to be on his bridge at this time of night. Sure, she had a nice figure, a little tall… hey, it's all good. No... no, it's not. Shit. He needed to go out on the water, he needed to simply stand at the edge and look into the seemingly endless depths of the water. With someone else near him, Ian didn't know if he had the restraint to control his actions. He strolled out onto the bridge, neither making a deliberate noise nor attempting to soften the sound of his footsteps. Two feet from her, Ian figured that she hadn't noticed him; she hadn't moved from her place on the railing. Clearing his throat, he fought to come up with a simple greeting.  
"So, do ya come here often?" What the fuck was that? A million things he could have said, and he let loose with the oldest chat line in the book. Christ.  
She spun around, genuinely surprised at the presence of another person on her bridge at this time of the night. "Er, um…"  
"It's okay," he assured her. "I'm just here for the view." Walking past her towards the railing, Ian's arm brushed against hers. In that split second, the view was complete and tranquil. A spot above his stomach twinged, and he turned to look at her as her gaze met his. Her eyes held a sort of recognition in them as she stood up, her expression softening as he straightened up as well. "Did you feel that?" It came out as a half-hopeful whisper, Ian standing as she stared at him with that same gentle expression. For a moment, Ian realized that he was standing naked to his torso as her eyes traveled over him.  
"Ian?" she asked gently. "Luciender?" With a steady hand, she reached up to stroke the side of his face. In an instant, that simple touch brought them back to the time of the Silver Millennium, a time before the fall of the moon and the loss of parents and siblings, a time before the madness began. A young man of fifteen sat on the banks of a lake on the grounds of the Moon Kingdom palace, the image of a perfect Earth reflected in the almost still waters. He smiled down at a newborn in his arms, his index finger caught in the soft but firm grasp of his baby sister. The blissful scene melted away to reveal the same young man and child, both two years older sitting in the cold throne room of the Moon Kingdom's palace. In full military garb with a massive sword strapped to his back, Luciender held his sister on his knee, her pale green dress a stark contrast to the dark uniform he wore. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, he kissed her on the forehead before standing up and handing her to Queen Serenity.  
"I'll be back, sis." With a curt nod, he left the two of them, the child bursting into tears as he disappeared from the room. The images blurred once more, the same young man violent and angry in the same throne room some time later, his uniform ripped to shreds from the waist up. The same little girl, silent but frightened, clung to the leg of his bloodied uniform as he faced the young Queen Serenity…  
Lita's hand fell from Ian's cheek, her eyes wide in wonder. Ian stared down at her as well, unsure of the intimate discourse that had taken place in a brief moment. He didn't know who the girl was, and yet he knew that she had been that child, and he had been that young man. Overwhelmed, he had an instinctive want to throw the girl into the water for calling him Luciender; instead, something kept him calm, allowing him only to stand on the bridge and breathe. Both of her arms wrapped around his torso in a child's embrace, her head resting against his chest in an almost relieved fashion. Ian found he could return the hug, his right hand against her back as his left stroked her hair in a protective manner. They stood there on the bridge, a single silhouette in the light of the full moon, the half of each other's experience now complete.  
As profoundly as it had begun, it stopped; Ian threw himself back as his head began to spin once more. "What the fuck was that?" he demanded, the images now an erratic kaleidoscope in his mind's eye. "What's going on?"  
"Ian," Lita said softly, walking towards him. For every step she took forward, he stumbled back. "Luciender?"  
"What are you doing?" he demanded, now backed up against the railing. Genuinely afraid, Ian leapt to the edge of the bridge, the pounding in his head growing more intense by the second. As Lita's hand reached for him once more, Ian threw himself from the railing, wings growing in midair. Unable to summon the strength to complete the transformation, he fell into the water with a loud splash. On the bridge, Lita stared in horror as Ian came to the surface gasping for air, swimming to the bank. She ran around to meet him as he pulled himself onto the grass, coughing and shaking his head. At the sight of her, Ian scrambled to his feet and took off in the same direction from which he'd arrived. Lita stood at the foot of the bridge, tears streaming down her cheeks as he ran off. She couldn't tell if they were tears of relief, anger, or confusion, but they were tears. At this point, that was good enough for her.   
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
Sarah was now awake, sitting on the floor as Aaron and Val slept on the couch. She knew that the voice inside her head was more than upset with the duo's inability to carry out a simple task, from the way that it ranted and demanded some form of punishment. Shaking her head, Sarah reached for the book on the table. She figured that perhaps a chat with the other goddess might calm this one down. Turning the yellowed pages, she found the image of Ciarazel standing amidst the dark flames, fingers still extended towards the demon. Whispering so as not to wake the others, Sarah held the book in her lap and spoke directly to the image.  
"Are you there?" In response, the flames began their slow dance as the original text faded from the page. The image brought its arm down and turned to face Sarah, spreading its tattered robes in a slow eerie curtsy. As it happened, Sarah could hear a second voice in her subconscious, softer and more delicate than the first. Infinitely polite and dangerously beautiful, Ciarazel began to address both Sarah and the spirit she harbored.  
"Hail, Vessel of the risen Miakoda," it greeted, the image in the book still as the voice spoke. "Hail, dark Sister."  
"Hail, dark Sister," Sarah heard herself reply. "I require thy assistance."  
"And I, yours." The image lifted its hand, producing the image of a large shadowy demon on the page. "I grow weary of him who harbors the curse of darkness."  
"And I as well." The voices were a stark contrast; the raspy breath of Miakoda was harsh compared to the melodic whisper of Ciarazel as they conversed. "He aids those who guard my Crystal and keep me in this child." The last few words were spat in disdain, and Sarah recoiled at the sound. "It is a weak thing."  
Sarah swore she saw the image in the book smile. "Nay, dear Sister. Thy vessel shall grow stronger, and I shall assist thee in thy task." The flames on the parchment rose and danced as one of the candles Val had left on the table came to life, flickering in the dark room. "From the flames of darkness thou shall find an ally."  
"What do you mean, an ally?" It was the first sentence that Sarah had spoken, and she felt both voices grow quiet for a moment. Ciarazel spoke first, a dangerously soft chuckle preceding her words.  
"The child is strong, dear Sister. She dares to speak in the presence of the immortals. Follow my instructions, child. If thou wilt give thyself fully to thy goddess, thou shall become more powerful than thy companions can imagine."  
Sarah's pride and esteem, fragile after being with Aaron, Val, and Ryan for so long, clung to Ciarazel's words. The opportunity to surpass her brother, the possibility to control the two people who had forced her into this, it was something no one had ever offered her before. With an uncharacteristically steady hand, she smoothed the page before speaking again. "And what wouldst thou offer me?" she asked, lapsing into the formal speech the voices used.  
"Dominion over thy companions," the reply came. "Dominion, and the power to summon allies of darkness." The candle grew brighter, and Sarah laid the book on the table next to it. The dark flames on the page grew dim as a string of symbols appeared on the parchment. Her eyes grew wide as the voices read the words aloud, understanding the meaning of the syllables pronounced.  
"Dost thou give thyself, child?" The spirit inside her hissed impatiently. "Give of thyself to rise above thy brother, and to gain thy revenge."  
It knew. Somehow, Miakoda knew that she had been an unwilling participant, and that she felt betrayed by the one person who should have kept her safe. Her eyes on the sleeping figures, Sarah spoke for the last time in her own once-timid voice. "For that dominion, I give myself to thee, Goddess."  
The candle abruptly ceased, plunging the room into darkness. The light of the nearly risen full moon crept through the blinds, casting shadows across Sarah as she knelt on the floor.  
"Done."  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
Her watch read eleven o'clock. It was a nice clear night, lit with a few stars and a lovely white moon that hung in the sky over Tokyo Tower. Dawn strolled alongside Rini as Serena and Mina walked on ahead with Luna at their side. While the two blondes carried on a quiet conversation, neither Dawn nor Rini spoke to each other. The pink haired girl, older than Dawn by a handful of months, kept her eyes on the ground as she walked. Her hair hung over her shoulders in the classic rabbit-eared fashion, and her sneakers scuffed the sidewalk every so often. Dawn, humming softly, looked up at the sky searching for constellations. Her backpack slung over one shoulder, she hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her shorts as she walked. As they passed the coffee shop, she caught a glimpse of Rini's profile in the enormous glass window. Dawn suddenly felt a pang of guilt; somebody just as alone in Tokyo as she had been, and it was her job to be protecting her. Instead, she'd been sarcastic and ignored her the whole evening at the temple. With a sigh, she stepped a bit closer to Rini and touched her arm.  
"Sorry about the klutz comment," she offered as Rini looked up. "I'm not that much of a bitch normally."  
"S'okay," the other girl shrugged. "I get it a lot when I'm around here." She nodded at Serena ahead. "Mostly from her."  
"Why?"  
Rini sighed and lifted her head, her eyes unusually bright. "The whole mother complex, for one. You'd think she'd try to be nice or something, but..." she trailed off, head lowered again. "I shoulda just stayed for dinner."  
"Dinner?"  
Rini kept her chin down. "I didn't want to go to some stupid state dinner, so I used my Key to come back here for a few hours. I shoulda known better."  
"Maybe," Dawn agreed. "Was it one of those formal banquet things?"  
"Yeah."  
She gave her a small smile. "I'd have probably tried to leave, too, if it makes you feel any better. My mom was way into throwing dinner parties for her friends or for people my dad worked with, and I always tried to stay out of the house when she did that. I hated all that formal junk."  
"Really?"  
"Yup. So don't beat yourself up about it. Beside," she said, lowering her voice. "Don't tell me that you're going to take everything that Serena says seriously."  
Rini rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, hell no. Not in this day and age." She regarded Dawn, who winked at her as she stretched her hands over her head. "You know, you really are a lot like my Eos back home," she said thoughtfully.  
"How so?" They crossed the street, now only a few blocks from the apartment building. "And does 'your Eos' have a real name, or does she just go by Eos?"  
She stopped to tie her shoe, letting Serena and Mina walk on ahead as Dawn waited for her. "Her real name's Myrannda, but Pu's called her Eos from the very beginning."  
"Pu?"  
"Sailor Pluto," Rini explained. "She's the closest person that Eos has to a mom, besides my mom and dad." She stood up, noticing Dawn's concerned expression. "She never knew her own parents. They died when she was really young, so Pluto and my mom have always taken care of her. She's kinda like my big sister."  
"More than Serena is here?"  
"Her? Please." Rini made a face that caused her companion to giggle. "When I was little and came here for a while, half the time I was looking out for her. Can you imagine how ridiculous that looks, a six year old making sure that her fourteen year old future mother doesn't do something stupid?"  
Dawn couldn't help laughing out loud at this point, covering her mouth as both Serena and Mina looked back at her. "I see your point," she managed. "It must be kinda weird, meeting your mom when she's your age…"  
"I know you guys are talking about me," Serena interrupted hotly. "Don't believe anything that little brat says, Dawn."  
"For your information," Rini shot back, "I'm not that little anymore. I'm older than you are at this point."  
"I'm still your mother."  
"You're still a crybaby klutz, too."  
"Rabbit ears."  
"Meatball head."  
That did it. Serena stopped and turned around, her eyes narrowed. "You are so going to get it later, Rini."  
"Yeah, whatever," she answered flippantly. She stuck her tongue out for effect, which only infuriated Serena even more. In a flash, she took off after Rini, chasing her down the sidewalk towards the apartment building. Mina and Dawn followed with the little black cat on their heels; Mina moaning about how she couldn't go anywhere with the two of them and Dawn thinking that the entire scene was pretty funny in of itself. A few doors down from the building, Serena tripped over her own feet and went flying, catching one of Rini's legs as she fell. Both girls hit the pavement as Mina and Dawn caught up with them.  
"Can't you ever grow up, Serena?" Luna asked, disgusted by the whole situation. "You could've just let it go."  
"It's the principle of the thing," she muttered, getting to her feet. "Nobody calls me 'Meatball Head' and gets away with it."  
Dawn pulled Rini up, shaking her head. "I'll keep that in mind. No offense, but do you two always…" She trailed off as she caught sight of a garbage can whose contents were smoldering at the corner of the building. "Oh lovely," she said with trademarked sarcasm. "Some kid decided to light up a trash can for fun. Ugh, people."  
"Shouldn't we call the fire department or something?" Mina asked, looking around nervously.  
"C'mon," Dawn answered, walking towards the small fire. "We just put the lid on and it's out. Simple as that." To punctuate her point, she grabbed a lid from a nearby can. "No oxygen, no fire."  
As she held the lid, ready to cover the flames, an enormous dark shadow leapt outward from the fire at Dawn. With a scream, she dropped the metal cover and backed up, her eyes wide at the image in front of her. A grotesque shadow reminiscent of Ian's demon form towered over her, followed by another winged phantom that landed between her and the rest of the group. Cold soulless eyes stared down at her, and Dawn looked around frantically for a way back to the other three. The first demon stretched a dark claw towards her, the talon-like fingers grabbing her arm as its mouth opened wide in a silent howl. Dawn cried out in pain, the grip ice-cold against her skin. Just as suddenly as she screamed, a bright string of hearts and light whipped past her, severing the outstretched arm of the first demon shadow. It fell back into the fire, the arm dropping to allow Dawn to run past. Ahead, she saw the somewhat familiar image of Sailor Venus with Luna next to her.  
"Nice aim," she replied, rubbing her upper arm. "What the hell is that?"  
"A cold energy apparition," Luna stated, eyeing the remaining one.  
"A what?"  
"A demon shadow," the cat explained. "It's a servant creature, summoned by a second being." She frowned, her head tilted to the side. "Are there only two of them?"  
"I dunno," Venus answered. "Sailor Moon and I can take care of this. You just keep Rini safe." She glanced back to see Moon sprinting towards them, Rini as Sailor Chibi-Moon. "Where'd that thing come from?"  
"The fire, I think," Dawn managed to get out. She was still shivering from where the creature had touched her. "It's hard to say." She took a few steps forward, trying to decide if the other shadow was still there or not. Venus yanked her back roughly.  
"What are you thinking? I told you, we can take care of this." She didn't give Dawn a chance to argue as she and Sailor Moon raced towards the remaining shadow. The flames in the garbage can climbed higher, producing two more of the same wraithlike demons that stood on either side of the previous one, shielding a small girl from the two Senshi. The one in the center opened its mouth, a gray smoke pouring forth that surrounded Moon and Venus. Through the haze, Dawn could see Sailor Moon raise a wand of some kind above her head as a bright beam issued forth from it.  
"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!" In a flash of light, the grey smoke shot outward, sending the demon shadows scattering in to the night air. The girl who had hid behind the shadows raised her hand and motioned with her fingers, summoning another trio of wraiths from the flames.  
"Oh, shit." Dawn glanced back at Chibi-Moon, who looked nervously at the failed attack that Sailor Moon had attempted. "Um, what do we do now?"  
The pink Senshi glanced frantically between the inexperienced Guardian and Luna. "Transform, and you'll have to learn as we go, I guess."  
"Yeah, I guess," Dawn echoed. "Dawning Sky Power, Make Up!" A moment later, Eos and Chibi-Moon were running to aid the other girls. "So what do I do now?"  
"You wait," she replied quickly, trying to assess the situation. "You've gotta get one of them to attack you first."  
"I WHAT? You've got to be kidding me! I don't wanna be attacked!"  
Chibi-Moon shoved her to the front. "You feed off of their attack energy. You can catch it and channel it into your own attack," she explained to a hesitant Eos. "Just, I dunno, pick some of it up and throw it back at them."  
"That's not very specific," Dawn replied nervously. "You don't have any other advice?" As her companion shook her head, Dawn turned her attention to the new shadows. Moon and Venus had backed up significantly, standing with the others in shock.  
"That girl back there is controlling them," Sailor Moon pointed out, gesturing with her Moon Kaleidoscope. "She's wiggling her fingers and they're just leaping out of the fire." As if to punctuate what she'd just spoken, a pair of even larger shadows emerged from the growing flames. Hulking and wingless, they lumbered towards the girls with massive claws groping at the air. One of the winged wraiths took to the sky, arms wrapped around the young girl who had summoned them. The pair alighted on a fire escape, the demon returning to the ground immediately. It came to rest in front of Chibi-Moon and Eos, dividing the Senshi and forcing Moon and Venus to deal with the other four creatures. Dawn immediately stepped in front of her charge, waiting for something to happen.  
"Oh, that was real cute," she taunted, yelling at the shadow. "You got any other tricks you wanna share?"  
"What the hell are you doing?" Chibi-Moon hissed. "Are you nuts?"  
Dawn ignored her, stepping closer to the creature. "What, you don't know how to talk? Are you just a buncha smoke and mirrors, or can you actually DO something?" As she spoke, the shadow opened its mouth and issued forth a stream of gray smoke that surrounded the pair. Heavy and cold, it made Dawn's skin crawl as it grew thicker and clouded her vision. She grabbed Chibi-Moon's hand and yanked her close so she could whisper.  
"OW! What?" The response was more annoyed than frightened.  
"Just catch and redirect, right?" Dawn bit the words off, hoping that her stubborn and somewhat cocky attitude would be a sufficient substitute for courage at this point. "That's all I have to do?" Chibi-Moon nodded, and Dawn dropped her hand. Eyes locked on the approaching demon, Dawn stretched both arms out and brought her palms together at her chest, taking a deep breath as she did so. Chibi-Moon watched in horror as the thick smoke gathered around Eos, disappearing into the tiny void between her hands. The demon advanced, its wingspan increasing as the Guardian remained motionless. Chibi-Moon realized the familiar actions, and knew that she only had seconds to warn the other sailors of what was about to happen.  
"Moon! Venus!"  
The two senshi looked back to see Eos almost completely hidden by the silhouette of the eight foot demon, with Chibi-Moon standing some feet back holding Luna in her arms. The Guardian's hands had taken on a pale lavender glow, a deeper rosy orb growing from her fingertips. "What's she doing?" Moon asked.  
"DUCK!"  
Venus and Moon dropped to the pavement as Eos' eyes opened, the orb in her hands now composed of the swirling smoke the demon had released moments ago. The sphere pulsed as she forced her arms in front of her, the orb hanging in midair for a split second as her voice echoed in the tiny space.  
"Eos Daybreak Reflection!" The first demon shattered as a dazzling orb of orchid and rose surged ahead, surrounded by the same thick smoke that the creature had first released. The other girls watched in amazement as the sphere continued overhead, finally exploding in the midst of the other four shadows. With bone-chilling howls, the four shadows evaporated into the night air and the fire in the trash can abruptly ceased. Sailor Moon looked to the fire escape, but the girl who had summoned the demons had taken the opportunity to split the scene. Dawn slumped to the ground, melting back into her own clothing as she hacked and coughed. The other three girls changed back into their original outfits as well, with Rini and Serena pulling Dawn to her feet.  
"Are you okay?" Luna asked, concerned. "That was really something, Dawn."  
"Yeah, something would definitely be a way to describe it," she coughed. She examined her fingertips, wincing at the red welts that were beginning to surface. "Is this supposed to happen?"  
"Sometimes," Rini admitted. The girls made their way into the building fairly quietly. The elevator stopped, and the three girls got out, leaving Dawn leaning against the wall.  
"Are you going to be okay?" Mina asked, genuinely worried. "Do you want one of us to come with you?"  
"No, that's – "  
"I will." Rini stepped back inside next to Dawn, who smiled gratefully. "I'll catch up with you guys later." 


	5. Episode 5 - From the Fire

Why the fuck am I still here? Ian had lain awake for hours, sleeplessly pondering the problem and its various solutions. On the one hand, he could jump the next plane home to England, tell his course supervisor that he couldn't handle the culture or something similar and forget anything had ever happened. On the other hand… well, he felt something here, something deeper than he could understand at that given moment. The unanswered questions were eating him alive, and he ultimately decided that he had to know what was going on and just who he was. The images on the bridge had blown his mind, and walking back to his flat soaked to the bone didn't help. Ian figured he was going to develop a weeklong cold now, but that was the least of his concerns. For now, he had to find that girl again.  
Five hours of insomnia had finally let him remember where he'd seen her before. The first day on campus, she'd been talking with Mina and Serena, Dawn's friends. He figured all he had to do now was find Dawn and follow her until he and that girl inevitably met up again. That plan had let him get a few hours of sleep before having to drag himself to lecture that morning. Still… I shoulda asked her name. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the lecture theatre and took the same place as before. Ian shrugged out of his jacket, laying it across the seat next to him in the vain hope that Dawn would show up and take her same seat as before, and not run a mile in the opposite direction.  
   
"Damnit, Serena!" Dawn sprinted across campus, sloshing her coffee everywhere and aggravating the burns on her hands. Gauze and tape covered the index and middle fingers of each hand, which made holding anything difficult. The fact that her companion had decided to linger over breakfast didn't improve her disposition, and Serena's insistence on a third strawberry pastry had resulted in the mad dash across campus. "Just one more, we've got loads of time left," she mimicked, the sarcasm oozing so thick that the blonde could have slipped in it. Slip she did, falling facefirst onto the pavement and yet inflicting only minor damage to one of her knees. Dawn sighed and stopped, extending a hand to help her friend up. In all fairness, she could have left with the rest of the girls, and Mina had warned her about Serena's inability to be on time anywhere. Serena took the hand, careful to avoid the bandages.  
"Thanks," she muttered, dusting herself off before they started a fast walk towards the center of campus. "Hey, Dawn," she began in a more serious tone. "Did you notice anything strange about Lita this morning?"  
"To me, you're all strange," Dawn joked. "Not really, but I don't know her that well to tell. Why're you asking?"  
"She was so withdrawn," Serena replied in a concerned tone. "I think she's really worried about all that's gone on in the past few days." She turned towards another classroom building as Dawn skidded to a stop next to her.  
"Personally, I'm a little more than freaked out," she said with a grin. "If anyone else is, then they probably have a right to be. Anyways, noon at my place, right?"  
"Yeah, I'll get everyone there," Serena promised.  
"And I'll do my best to get Ian to stop in," she smiled. That is, if he comes in today.  
   
Under the seemingly emotionless expression, Ian was getting nervous. He wondered if she was deliberately staying away from the lecture because of him. Damn it to hell. He'd noticed the guy who'd had the girly schoolbag the other day come in. The guy had come in sporting a fairly normal backpack this morning, sneering at him before sitting on the other side of the room. The lecture was about to start and Dawn was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the professor, for that matter. Suddenly, the east door burst open, slamming against the wall and causing half of the people in the theatre to jump in their seats. Ian didn't jump but turned around to face whatever had come through the door this time.  
   
Dawn smiled sheepishly at the sea of faces staring at her, silently cursing whoever had polished the floor the evening before. Running at top speed so as not to be late, she'd needed the door to stop her and hadn't counted on the marble being so slick. Her face red with embarrassment, she scanned the crowd looking for the one person who wouldn't be smiling this early in the morning. Now where in the… aha. Ian was right where he'd been during the first class. Creature of habit, huh? The double meaning of the term struck her as immensely funny, and she giggled to herself as she approached the row where he sat. As she made her way past the already filled seats, her grin faltered slightly. Here she was trying to get him to come to her place that afternoon where a talking cat was going to inform him of the events of his past life. Dawn wondered if she couldn't just wait until after class, or if maybe she could get Amy to tell him tomorrow and just take a day to recover. Besides, the thought of deliberately annoying someone who could transform into an eight foot tall demon at will wasn't exactly comforting. Dawn's mind began playing what-if as she got closer and closer… what could she even begin to say at this point? Oh God… I should just turn around and…  
"I need to talk to you," Ian blurted out, a little louder than he should have. He pulled his jacket off of the chair next to him and waited for Dawn to sit down.  
"Funny, I coulda said the same thing," she replied, a little surprised that he'd bothered to save a seat for her, and somewhat nervous at his insistence.  
"I need to know the name of the tall brunette you were talking with on the first day of class before we met." Fuck beating around the bush, I need answers.  
"How come?" The corners of her mouth twisted up in playful expression. "Little Brit got himself a crush?" As Ian's eyes narrowed at the response, Dawn's complexion went completely pale, and she wondered if he'd transform then and there for that remark.  
"I need to speak to her. There's something I have to know as soon as possible."  
"How do you even know Lita?" Dawn asked, her suspicions getting the better of her. She still didn't trust the guy after what happened in her apartment the day before yesterday.  
"I met her last night." The words came out before he could stop himself, but he didn't really care at this point. He didn't have to give an explanation, and from her somewhat leery demeanor he assumed that Dawn wasn't going to ask for one. "I just need to see her as soon as possible, that's all."  
"Well, actually…" She tried to look nonchalant as she pulled her notebook and pen from her bookbag. "She and some of the other girls are coming over to my place for lunch later."  
"What time?"  
Dawn couldn't believe her luck; instead of having to figuratively put him in a headlock and drag him to her apartment, he was practically begging to come along. "About noon. You remember how to get there?"  
"You don't know where she'd be before twelve?" he snapped impatiently. "This is important."  
What does he want with… oh, shit. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as Dawn realized what was going on. If Ian ran into Lita last night, then that meant that he'd spoken to her after she'd left the temple and after the whole Ian/Luciender talk. From the way Ian was asking after her, Dawn assumed that Lita had told him a few things about his past and perhaps their unusual relationship. She decided that for her new friend's safety, as well as her own, that she'd best remain a bit cryptic concerning Lita's whereabouts. "She's got class all morning," she answered firmly. "You're gonna have to wait until lunch to…"  
"What happened to your fingers?" Ian cut her off, noticing for the first time the white gauze and tape on her fingertips. For that matter, both hands looked as if she'd stuck them under a hot faucet seconds ago. Dawn instantly looked guilty and dropped both hands in her lap.  
She stopped, somewhat stunned that he'd said anything. "Cooking accident," she replied in a less than convincing tone. "Nothing that won't fix itself in a few days." She looked up as he narrowed his eyes, examining the bandages and burns. Right now, she didn't want to play Twenty Questions. She was still pretty shaken up after the events in front of the apartment building last night, and Ian's comment had only served to upset her further. Hastily, she gathered her things and stood up as the professor walked in. Without another word to Ian, she stepped over the other people in the row and quickly walked out the door at the other side of the lecture hall. Biting her lip to keep from losing it completely in public, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.  
"Are you certain you don't know where she is now?" It was more of a growl than anything, and Ian towered over her menacingly.  
"You can wait until noon, and you can leave me alone as well," she replied through clenched teeth. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.  
Ian growled again in reply, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Fine. See you then." With that, he walked off noiselessly. He had some time to kill… perhaps he could go home and catch up on his sleep until he met Lita again.  
   
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Luna and Artemis sat in the furthest corner of the room, hoping to catch a breeze somewhere. The fire made the room unbearably hot, but Raye sat unfazed by the heat. She'd gotten up earlier than usual to finish her chores around the temple, making sure that she'd have a few hours to devote to the fire before she met up with the others at Dawn's apartment. She hadn't expected the cats to show up at the Hikawa Shrine, though. Over breakfast, Luna told her about what had happened the night before when they walked home, and the shadows that the girl had conjured from the fire. Now, Raye sat with her legs folded beneath her, eyes closed to see the images that the fire might bring.  
The same image of fire within fire came back more vividly than the first time, with the silhouette of a woman in deep red robes standing amidst the fire. The flames grew brighter, and the woman lifted the cowl from her head. Dangerously beautiful, she gestured to the tongues of fire at her feet as if pulling a puppet up by its strings. A dark shadow with a grotesque wingspan grew from the inferno, towering over its mistress as she lowered her hand. The creature took off as the flames subsided, the image changing to an all too familiar scene in Raye's subconscious. The once serene palace of the Moon Kingdom in the Silver Millennium lay in shambles, glass and debris scattered throughout the throneroom. Queen Serenity sat weeping, her gown torn and bloodied. The body of King Endymion slumped over in one of the thrones on the dais, and screams could be heard throughout the palace. The glass ceiling shattered, Serenity cowering as thousands of glittering shards rained down. A dark shadow came to rest in front of her, the massive wings spread outwards to almost double the creature's size. With a roar, it grabbed at Serenity with a scaly claw and held her off the floor at arms length. Its grip tightened around her throat as she tried to speak. Helpless to do anything but watch, Raye couldn't hear any of the exchange between the two, or warn the Queen when she saw the demon's body take on a dark aura. She watched in horror as Serenity was caught in the creature's assault of jagged black light and energy, her head thrown back in a silent scream. The young Queen crumpled to the floor as the winged demon took flight once again, the entire room plunging into darkness. The first silhouette reappeared, standing watch over a young woman who mimicked her motions above a smaller flame. Filmy wisps in the shape of the first demon rose from the fire, fading into nothing as the flames danced higher and higher…  
"Raye?" Luna had nudged her knee, pulling her out of the trance. The little black cat looked up at the Shinto priestess who sat with tears running down her face. "Raye, what is it?"  
She got up from the fire and walked outside, the cool air making her aware of the dampness on her cheeks. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she stared out at the calmness of the grounds at the shrine. Peaceful and quiet, a stark contrast to the scene she had just witnessed. "Oh Luna," she whispered. "I saw it. I saw what happened to Serenity after Luciender got there. It's horrible, Luna…"  
Luna and Artemis exchanged confused looks. Artemis spoke first. "What are you talking about, Raye?" he asked. "Serenity sent Luciender to the present, just as she did with you and the other Senshi."  
"But I saw it…" she stammered. "It rose up from the fire and I saw it attack Serenity…"  
"That was last night," Luna interrupted gently. "The girls dealt with those fire shadows last night. Did you see who summoned those shadows?"  
Raye bit her lip, shaking her head. "A young woman, but there was something behind her, helping her. It was a woman's silhouette, I'm sure of that, though." Sighing, Raye reached for her broom and began sweeping, not because the leaves had collected on the porch again but because it was calming and familiar. "Are you sure that nothing happened between Luciender and Serenity before she sent him ahead?"  
"Very sure."  
With a sigh, the raven-haired girl continued sweeping the nonexistent leaves and dirt from the wood planks for a few more minutes, then set the broom aside as she went in to change. She didn't want to be late for the meeting that afternoon.  
   
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"Where the hell have you been?" Val accused from her place on the couch, not looking up from the book. Silence answered her, and she lifted her head to see Sarah casually leaning against the wall as the door slammed shut. "What's with running off in the middle of the night?"  
"You were worried?" The confidence in Sarah's response was uncharacteristic, but Val didn't pay any attention to it.  
"Worried?" She snorted in reply. "Fuck, no. You'd have come back in time for dinner. The voices in your head would've led you back sooner or later." She chuckled to herself as she resumed her reading. Sarah straightened slowly, her fingers reaching for the box of matches on the counter. Deftly, she lit one of the spare candles on the counter, the faint smell of the burnt match reaching Val's nose in a matter of seconds. Her expression held a trace of annoyance as her face wrinkled at the acrid scent. "What are you doing now?"  
"Practicing."  
Val looked up from her place on the couch and let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Sarah stood in the shadow of an enormous demon, its twisted horns inches from the ceiling of the apartment. Her hand hovered over the candle as the creature raised its head and roared, the air immediately chilling around them. In an instant, Sarah's hand dropped to her side and the creature vanished, Val lying in a fetal position in the cushions of the couch. The corner of the younger girl's mouth turned up in a smirk as she approached Val, noticing the damp stain on her companion's dark skirt.  
"Are you worried now?" Val nodded fearfully, and Sarah rattled the matchbox as she smiled ominously down at her. "Good. I don't think we're going to have any more problems, are we?" The whimper from the cushions served as an appropriate means of agreement, and Sarah bent down to retrieve the fallen tome from the floor.  
"Well done, child." The raspy voice of the water goddess seemed almost pleased with Sarah's actions. "Thou hast proven thyself worthy of the task at hand."  
"I'm glad you're pleased," she answered respectfully, turning to the familiar image of Ciarazel. Death curtsied with grace as the dark goddess greeted them. "Was that what you wished me to do?" she asked the book.  
"Yes, and thou hast accomplished much," the voice purred. "Thou hast forced the Guardian to reveal herself and her abilities. From this, we shall be able to overpower her to reach the protectors of the Crystal and fully awaken thy mistress."  
"And what of thy creation?" Miakoda pressed. "Thou dost not find it strange that it did not appear as in times past?"  
"Nay, dark Sister," it replied. "It is not a slave of the protectors, and seeks not to ally itself with them." The image gestured to the flames, Sarah's silhouette evident on the aged parchment as it was soon joined by that of the immense demon she'd seen in her first encounter in the parking lot "Thou must seek out the creature and use it to destroy the Guardian. Once thou hast destroyed the Guardian and allied thyself with my dark creation, thou shalt surely resurrect thy goddess to her former glory."  
"Surely," Sarah echoed fervently. "But when?'  
"Soon, child," the raspy voice intoned. "Soon." 


	6. Episode 6 - Prince of Jupiter

Ian sat on the steps at the front of the all-too familiar apartment building. Dawn still had at least fifteen minutes before she'd be late, but he was nonetheless pissed off. He'd been sitting there since 11; Ian had foregone his morning classes in search of Lita, finally resigning himself to waiting it out in a shadier spot. He stood up and began to pace slowly in the shadow of the building, a thousand and one questions spinning through his head. The images he'd seen the night before were still strong in his memory, but he needed to fill in the gaps, and for that he needed Lita.  
Patience had never been Ian's strong suit, and the waiting was killing him. He wiped the perspiration from his face and considered removing his jacket, but decided against it. It'd still be hot either way. A bit of movement at the corner of the building caught his eye, and he froze where he stood. Damn. It was the girl from his Calc class, not Dawn. He relaxed slightly and resumed his pacing as she got closer, her arms wrapped around a rather large textbook.  
"Hello, Ian," she chirped, forcing a smile onto her face. She knew that Pluto had warned all of them against talking to him until the meeting had started, but she didn't have much of a choice now. If she'd turned and left, he would've suspected something was wrong. For all she knew, he might've transformed then and there to track her down. As much as Amy hated to admit it to herself, all of the girls were a few years out of practice, and Ian frightened her more than this new enemy the others had told her about. She hadn't witnessed either one firsthand, but Ian's appearance was evidence enough that it would take more than just one of them to prevent any damage from being done.  
"'Ello." He responded without looking at her, his mouth barely moving as he spoke. "Do you know when Dawn will be here?"  
"No, I don't," she replied, a bit hesitantly. "Sorry."  
"What about Lita then? You know her, right? Do you know where she might be?" He turned his head to look down at her. "I have to talk to her."  
"No. I know she'll be here, though. She's bringing most of the food." Amy gave a tiny nervous smile, panic taking over most of her normally rational thought process. From the questions Ian was asking, she wondered just how much he knew about Lita and the unusual circumstances that connected them. Alone and out of practice, Amy was more than a little worried about waiting in the same vicinity as Ian. The sheen of sweat on his face and massive circles under his eyes didn't lend themselves to improve his appearance, and the way he kept pacing and muttering to himself only made her edgier. "She's a really good cook," she offered as a way to fill in the uncomfortable silence. "I'm sure there'll be plenty there." Ian only grunted a reply; since she couldn't give him the answers he wanted, he obviously didn't want to be bothered with her. "You missed the calc lab session today. I took notes if you'd like to copy them."  
Ian looked back at her, his eyes narrowed. "I know the stuff. I shouldn't have a problem missing a class. Thank you anyway." The pleasantries sounded hardly pleasant, as if he was just going through the motions because it was expected. Amy sighed and leaned against the wall, out of the glare of the near-noonday sun.  
"Wonderful day, isn't it?" she tried again, and this time Ian simply ignored her. Resigning herself to the fact that he wasn't going to bother her, she opened her textbook and began reading. If she had to sit here and wait, she didn't see anything wrong with getting some work done in the process.  
   
What a day already. The thing with Ian had started well enough, but had taken a downward spiral soon thereafter. His insistence to know Lita's whereabouts combined with Serena's comments fueled her worries. Granted, it could have all been an amazing coincidence, but she didn't find that too likely. The way he'd demanded answers in and out of class, something must have happened. Whatever it was, she wasn't too sure.  
Rather than wait around for the girls, Dawn had spent her time on campus looking for one of them. Just her luck, they'd all attended classes that morning and were nowhere to be found. She made a mental note to ask if any of them had cell phones and to get those numbers as soon as possible. Then, it was off to the stores to pick up a few things for lunch and afterwards. She knew Lita was responsible for bringing food, but she wasn't sure about drinks. She snagged a few two-liter bottles of soda just in case there wasn't enough at the apartment. As an afterthought, she grabbed a six pack of Smirnoff Ice to restock her supply… and if Ian's not a complete ass, I might consider sharing. With a bright smile and a low-cut shirt as persuasion, Dawn got out with all of the desired beverages and started on her way home. Someday, the cleavage was a blessing in an incomplete disguise. The mile walk took her a good twenty minutes, with the two bags of groceries and the book bag slung over one shoulder. As she crossed the street, Dawn saw two figures at the steps leading up to the building. One dressed in black paced ominously back and forth while the other sat demurely with her head bent over a book. Dawn shifted the bags in her arms, fishing for her keys as she neared the two. She finally recognized Amy, but the other person wasn't anywhere to be found. Suddenly, both bags were lifted from her arms.  
"Where's Lita?" Ian had taken the groceries she'd carried with both arms with one hand and stood above her, frowning. Amy had sat up and was now looking over at the pair anxiously, wondering how much longer Ian could wait before something unexpectedly unpleasant took place.  
"She'll be here in about fifteen minutes with the others, I imagine," Dawn answered, fishing her keys out of her pocket "Help me carry this stuff upstairs, and we can wait up there." She looked up at Ian, who stood in her path, unaccustomed to being ordered around by anyone, let alone someone smaller and female. "It's air-conditioned up there, for what it's worth." He nodded in submissive agreement and followed her to the elevator as Amy tucked her book under her arm and followed suit.  
   
"Just leave it on the counter," Dawn called, dumping her bookbag near her desk and turning on her computer monitor. Seconds later, the speakers blared as Godsmack filled the apartment and Ian glanced up with a look of genuine surprise. "What?" Dawn asked with a shrug. "My place, my rules, my music." Barefoot, she slipped into the kitchen as Amy took a spot on the couch, a book still in hand. Ian was inches away from the door when the familiar clink of glass bottles brought him into the tiny kitchenette. Dawn knelt on the floor, stocking the fridge with her recent purchase as she sang along to the music in a soft lilting soprano that seemed a bit out of place.  
"Fake ID?" He smirked as she almost dropped one of the bottles.  
"Nah, a 36DD tends to accomplish the same things," she remarked, recovering quickly. "If ya stick around long enough, I might feel generous."  
"With the bottles or in that position?" he deadpanned.  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she answered in the same wry tone as she looked up. Her eyes were back to their warm chocolate color and had a look of… well, something that Ian didn't want to get into. He had to concentrate on finding Lita and getting some answers to his questions. "You gonna take off that jacket?" she called.  
Ian shook his head slightly. No need in getting comfortable; he didn't plan on staying too long once Lita got there.  
   
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Twenty minutes later, everyone but Lita had arrived and was sitting in the living room. For a room full of usually giggly university girls, it was far too quiet. Raye, Amy, and Mina shared the couch, while Serena sat on the floor with a pillow in her lap. Ian leaned against the wall in full view of the door, ignoring the television program they'd turned on. Dawn and Rini stood outside on the balcony with Luna, watching for Lita and discussing how to handle the situation.  
"He was asking about her this morning?" Luna's expression grew even more concerned as Dawn relayed the events from the physics lecture and what had happened in front of the building when she'd returned home. "And we told her not to say anything to him," she grumbled.  
"I don't think she did any of it intentionally," Rini offered, looking over the balcony. "She was kinda withdrawn this morning when we met her for breakfast. She's probably got a lot on her mind now."  
"You think?" Dawn couldn't see how these girls managed to live near-normal lives with this Sailor thing hanging over their heads. It was such a distraction, but nothing compared to what Lita had learned the night before. "She might just be a little…" Her voice trailed off as she saw Ian move towards the door inside. Shit. Quickly, she opened the glass door and rushed inside, only to be met by Ian once again, carry a few bags as Lita followed behind, somewhat stunned.  
"You're finally here," Dawn spoke with a smile, quick to step between Lita and the walking black wall that carried her groceries. "Thanks so much for making lunch, Mina's raved about your cooking for forever –"  
"I need to talk to you." Ian's voice rumbled from the kitchenette, cutting off Dawn's attempt to lighten the mood and silencing the whispers from the girls on the couch. "Privately," he added.  
"After lunch." Dawn stepped towards him, much to the horror of the others in the room. "You can just hang on and wait a little longer."  
"Dawn, really –" Lita stammered, looking back and forth between her and Ian, whose right hand had balled into a fist as his eyes narrowed. "That's okay, I'm sure we can –"  
"Now." It was growled through clenched teeth and directed at the only person in the room who didn't seem to be threatened by him. Cocky bitch. "Move."  
Dawn's jaw clenched and she stepped a bit closer, having to lift her chin to look him in the eye. "My place, my rules, and I have the cops on speed-dial," she hissed in English through her teeth. "You might have everybody else shaking, but I am not afraid of you." The last statement was a boldface lie, but it was spoken emphatically; besides, she was about ready for a fight. The concept of losing just hadn't occurred to her yet.  
"I think lunch can wait." Luna leapt onto the counter so she could speak to both of them a little more easily. "It's Ian, isn't it?"  
"What the FUCK?" Ian nearly fell over the counter in surprise. Instead, he ended up on his ass on the linoleum floor of the kitchen. "Did the cat just talk or I am I flipping out?" he demanded with more than a hint of fear in his voice. Despite the air conditioning, a fresh sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead.  
"That's Luna," Rini called from the safety of the other side of the room. "You knew her once and we'd like her to try something with you… if that's all right," she added after a moment.  
"Fuck, no," he shot back, still on the floor. "No talking cat's gonna do anything to me."  
Lita brushed past Dawn gently and stood next to Ian, looking down at him. "Just give it a chance," she coaxed. "It's not going to hurt you."  
"If anything, it'll answer your questions better than any of us can," Amy offered in her ever logical tone.  
"W-w-what the fuck is going on here?" he asked Lita. Before she could answer, the cat leapt from the counter to the floor and sat next to him.  
"I'd like to try a mind meld," Luna said crisply. "It should awaken your memories as Luciender, prince of Jupiter. It's the simplest method to fully answer all of your questions."  
Ian looked up at Lita, who offered him a small smile. The rest of the girls stared in shock, with the exception of Dawn who leaned against the sink with a smug grin on her face. That did it… no self-righteous Yank bitch was gonna win this one. Getting to his feet, he ignored her and directed his attention to the cat, who had leapt back onto the counter. "All right then, cat. Let's go."  
"Sit over there," Luna directed, nodding at the sofa. Lita followed Ian and sat beside him, as the rest of the girls took seats on the carpet. Dawn remained standing, arms folded across her chest as she regarded Ian with the same smug grin. At this point, she could afford to gloat a bit.  
"Ready?" The cat stood on the coffee table, the yellow crescent clearly visible on its forehead.  
"Gimme what you got, cat." Nothing to lose.  
Luna bowed her head, the crescent becoming brighter as the symbol of Jupiter shone under a shock of bright blue hair on Ian's forehead. With a flash of silver, the same symbol appeared on Lita's forehead as well. Ian's dark eyes closed as a gold beam connected Luna's crescent to the bright symbol on his forehead, a flood of images rushing at him all at once.  
   
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A young woman with jet black hair and green eyes smiled down, the arms of a tall distinguished gentleman wrapped around her shoulders as he grinned with fatherly pride… his parents, and yet not his parents, they had loved him and sheltered him once long ago… the calm image shot ahead to the same woman watching him in a courtyard as he trained alongside his father, the two year old child expertly mimicking the parry and thrust the older man performed, with the woman's silvery laughter echoing off of the stone walls… ten years later, a young man hard at work under the supervision of the finest blacksmith, the sword in his hand glinting in the afternoon sun as it cleaved a brick neatly in two… and then, the lake again, three years later.  
He held a newborn girl in his arms, the soft pink blanket a stark contrast to the hunter green finery of the sword masters of Jupiter's kingdom. The young prince cradled the child in his arms, the dawn of a new day welcoming the new princess into the universe. Luciender swore he would be his sister's champion, vowing to protect her at all costs. With a tender kiss to her forehead, he smiled lovingly as the child's eyes gazed up at him in wonder and trust… and just as suddenly, the calm peace of the scene was broken.  
A loud and heated argument with a young woman in the middle of an enormous study, maps and military schematics scattered throughout the room… he called her Serenity, and demanded to know why she wouldn't aide the legions engaged in battle on Earth, why she refused to honor the alliance that the he had sworn to keep… preoccupied with her own daughter, she seemed unsure of the strength of the Moon's armies and refused to commit her forces to what she saw as a suicide mission… despite the young man's earnest pleas and insistence for the need to honor the treaties, she rejected his proposal of military support, saying that the armies of the Moon Kingdom could not support such a desperate and futile cause…  
And then, the battle… alone in their efforts, the legions under the command of Jupiter's royal family were crushed in a fierce and bloody ambush, captured by the mages and warriors committed to the overthrow of the Earth kingdom… the armored soldiers carrying his father and mother to the crude platform in the center of the clearing… the black-robed arch mage who held Luciender's own sword aloft above the heads of the people in the crowd… the stifled cries of his mother as she saw her husband fall limply to the ground… and his own cry at the sight of his parents offered up in sacrifice to a nameless deity as the enemy legions cheered in triumph.  
As suddenly as the cheering had begun, it was silenced as a monster grew in their midst. True to the legendary curse upon the House of Jupiter, Luciender had assumed the shape of a winged man-beast and turned upon his captors. Soldiers and mages became corpses in the berserker frenzy that ensued, as the DarkWing blood coursed through Luciender's veins. The sorcerer on the wooden platform stared in horror as a scaly claw tore through fabric and flesh, as the other arm swung the blade that swiftly beheaded him. Luciender lifted his mother gently and drew his wings around himself, weeping.  
Hours later, stumbling through the darkness towards the main city of the Earth kingdom… as the last commanding officer of the Sol Alliance, it was Luciender's duty to find the remaining legions of the alliance and retake the kingdom. The streets of the main city were in ruin, bodies strewn on the cobblestone grisly proof of the bloodbath that had ensued in the Moon Kingdom's absence. A child's scream pierced the cold silence, and Luciender's instinct led him to a makeshift camp outside the gates. The white robes of the priestesses were stained crimson, as were the bodies of the guards that surrounded the tents and wagons. Luciender recognized the face of the head priestess of Babylon, caught in a silent scream as she lay motionless on the ground. The scream came again, from a large chest beneath an overturned supply wagon. One swing of the sword shattered the lock on the chest, and Luciender opened it to see the red screaming face of an infant only days old, an ornate amulet tucked into its blanket. At the sight of another person, the baby's cries quieted as the young man stared, somewhat bewildered. Sheathing the sword, he lifted the tiny girl and cradled her in his arms as he resumed his more terrifying winged form. Asleep, the child made no notice of the beast that held it as it took flight.  
Serenity, again… trembling as the creature charged into the atrium where the rest of the ruling families of the Sol system sat while their children played. Ignoring their reactions, it thrust the still-sleeping infant into the hands of a woman with long green hair. Just as suddenly, it picked up the two year old princess of Jupiter, who cried loudly at the sight of it. Realizing what he'd done, Luciender resumed his human form to try and calm his terrified sister.  
"Shhhh, it's okay," he soothed, holding back his own tears. "It's me, it's all right. I'll take care of you." He kissed her on the forehead as her sobs subsided into a gentle yet somewhat desperate hug. Arms wrapped tightly around her, Luciender turned to leave.  
"Where are you taking her?" Serenity demanded, moving quickly to block his path.  
"Home. Back to Jupiter's kingdom to assume my father's throne and plot the death of the Moon Kingdom and all you hold dear." Gone was the tender and loving demeanor, as Luciender placed his baby sister on the floor behind him. She stood at his side, clinging to his bloodied trouser leg with a strangely calm expression on her tiny face. "Our parents died on that planet due to your cowardice," he accused. "I'm not about to leave my sister to suffer the same fate under your so-called protection."  
"The princess stays here," Serenity replied firmly. "You do not have the capacity or the maturity to care for a child. You're little more than a child yourself, Luciender."  
Dark eyes narrowed, he pulled the still bloodied sword from its scabbard and raised it above his head. "So be it, Serenity. Jupiter Lightning Dragon Strike!" From the tip of the sword poured forth a gigantic dragon, a shower of sparks raining down around the heirs of Jupiter. The dragon came to rest in front of Serenity, its massive wings shielding Lita and Luciender from the rest of the royal leaders who now stood behind the young Queen. With a slight nod from the vengeful Prince, the dragon leapt forward, the single bolt passing through Serenity and nearly killing her. He lowered the sword, regarding each of the other leaders in turn. "Now allow me and my sister to return to our home." His dark eyes filled with tears as he picked up Lita, her arms firmly clasped about his neck.  
"You must leave the princess here," the woman holding the child from the Earth Kingdom replied. "It is not time for her to return."  
"I'd rather die here and now. I will not return without her," he shouted, his voice overcome with grief. Luciender attempted the transformation, but the earlier attacks had drained any remaining strength from him. There was nothing left but the cold steel floor of the dungeon.  
The images came faster, angrier… the Imperial courts pronouncing banishment, passing the throne of Jupiter to the House of the Moon Kingdom, and forbidding him to ever see his sister again… his sister's screams as they took her out of the room… arriving on the Styxian colonies and transforming into his DarkWing form, resolving to remain as such until he could be reunited with his beautiful and now lost sister who would be brought up to forget he ever existed.  
The explosions on Earth and a mighty blackness racing towards the moon… he set off for the dimming sphere, ignoring the warnings that had been placed upon him years ago. His sister's safety and well-being were paramount. The palace grounds in ruin, he came through the glass ceiling, alighting near the crumpled and almost lifeless body of Serenity. With a clawed hand, he lifted her to demand a single question.  
"Where's my sister?" No response issued from her dry lips, so he repeated the question, roaring. A silvery voice greeted his thoughts, Serenity finding the strength to communicate with him on a more intimate level.  
"I sent her on to Earth's future."  
"Send me to protect her."  
"I can't," the voice replied weakly. "There's no time left…"  
"Send me," he repeated, his grip tightening. "Or so help me, Serenity…" The Queen raised a hand to the creature, her fingers glowing softly as she prepared to release him to the time beyond… and Luciender fell away to blackness, never to see the kingdom of the Moon again. 


	7. Episode 7 - A Question of Loyalty

Lita let out the breath she'd been holding for nearly a minute, her hand firmly held by Ian as his eyes opened. She'd seen the images as well, shared his thoughts as they came racing back to him. He lifted his head and regarded her with a somber expression, finally seeing that same look of trust from his newfound memories in her own eyes. She raised a hand to his cheek as she'd done the night before, a fond smile finding its way to her lips. Ian endured the gentle touch for a moment, then turned his gaze to Serena and Rini, who sat against the wall of the apartment.  
Raye saw it before anyone else knew what was happening. Ian's jaw clenched ever so slightly as he stared at Serena, the corner of his mouth lifting in an ugly sneer. With a cry, Raye tackled Serena as the wings ripped the fabric of Ian's shirt, his skin darkening to a deep blue-grey as a dark aura engulfed him. Mina and Amy ran to Serena's side as Dawn pulled Rini behind her. DarkWing stepped towards the frightened blonde, ready to finish what he as Luciender had sworn to do in the time of the Silver Millennium.  
"NO!" Lita placed herself between Serena and the beast, more worried for her friend's safety than her own. "She's not responsible, Ian. She didn't do any of that, you can't do this!" She pulled Serena into her arms, knowing full well that even in that horrid form, Ian wouldn't dare harm her. With a grunt, he eyed the pair skeptically, as well as the other three Senshi crowded around their future Princess. He then turned to the other Moon Princess, who sought protection behind Dawn. The wings extended to their full span as DarkWing threw both arms outwards, releasing a torrent of black needlelike shadows intended for the Princess. Instead, the other girl threw her to the side, bearing the full brunt of the demon's attack. With a cry, she fell against the sliding door to the balcony, shattering the glass and crashing to the concrete that served as a porch. Screams from the six girls in the apartment did little to dissuade DarkWing as he turned upon Rini, who lay against the wall sobbing hysterically. Lita called out to him repeatedly, knowing that if she left Serena, he wouldn't hesitate in attacking her.  
It was so cold… despite the heat of the afternoon sun and the warm concrete, Dawn shivered as she lay on the balcony. She pulled her knees to her chest, trying to concentrate on the dark energies that were rapidly slipping from her. Just a little bit… don't hang on to all of it, just keep a little for yourself. She flexed the fingers of her right hand, closing it into a fist and pulling herself to a sitting position. Inside, the creature had backed Rini into a corner, the other girls getting to their feet to try and stop DarkWing. Raising both hands to the sky, Dawn opened her palm and screamed the phrase she'd mocked less than twenty four hours earlier. "Dawning Sky Power, Make Up!"  
The flash of rose and lavender caught him off guard as the bright halo shot outwards from the balcony. DarkWing turned to see the girl he'd just sent through the glass standing at the door, her body covered with gashes and bruises and clad in something reminiscent of the Sailors uniforms. In her hands, she held an orb that continued to grow brighter and brighter, the shadows swirling rapidly beneath the milky rose surface. In an instant, she whipped her hands outward, the sphere expanding as it hurtled towards him. The impact of the attack threw him to the floor, and he lay for a moment more shocked than hurt. The needlelike heat subsided after a moment, giving him the chance to stand and spread his wings once more. The glass was gone… nothing to stop her from going straight over the balcony to the sidewalk below.  
"LIGHTNING SHADOW!" Dawn's confidence faltered noticeably as a violent black light sped from the creature's body. She'd heard of what had happened to the one victim in the parking lot. Unlike that poor slob, she didn't have the luxury of a barrier to stop her from being pushed over the ledge. Hands in front of her, Dawn met the attack straight on and began to channel the raw energy through her body. Even though she anticipated the attack, the sheer force of the dark assault was slowly driving her back. DarkWing brought his palms up higher, the black light growing stronger. The attack became more than what Eos could handle; jagged fingers of black lightning escaped from the safety of her palms and shot to the ground, cutting into the skin in her hands and splitting the leather of her gloves. With a cry, she felt her ankle hit the railing and buckle, forcing the attack skywards. Eos crumpled beneath the massive energy blast as DarkWing stopped and turned his attention back to Rini.  
The future Moon Princess stared up in fright at the winged beast that blocked her view of the other girls. Lita sat helplessly, unable to keep both Serena and Rini safe from DarkWing's need for revenge. Cornered like the proverbial rabbit in the shadow of a lion, Rini cowered as the demon stared down at the girl, an evil grin spread across his monstrous features. "Who's going to save you now?"  
"Me, of course." DarkWing turned to see Eos standing on the ledge, the railing behind her twisted and bent from the previous assault. Her right hand held a massive purple ball of energy, the edges tinged in black as a rose and lavender lightning storm churned within the orb. "EOS DAYBREAK REFLECTION!" The sphere disappeared beneath the surface of her palm as both hands shot in front of her ribcage, the concentrated likeness of DarkWing's previous attack hitting the demon squarely in the chest. Too amazed to react quickly, he slammed into the far wall of the apartment. Bracing himself against the wall with his hands, he gritted his teeth and spread his wings once more. The deafening roar preceded a third lightning shadow assault that met Eos' attack head-on. The result collision produced a burst of rose and lavender surrounded by a smoky shell of black lightning, finally exploding into a blinding display that sent everyone else to the floor of the apartment. As the haze cleared, Dawn could make out the image of a warrior standing where DarkWing had been, clad in armor and carrying an ornate broadsword across its back.  
"Holy shit," Eos breathed, her hands lowering to her sides. "Who the hell are you?"  
Luna, who had crept out from underneath Dawn's desk after the explosion, bowed to the young man in their midst. The crescent moon on her forehead glimmered as she lowered her head in greeting. "His Highness, Prince Luciender."  
Luciender nodded his head curtly in response, then stepped over to the group of girls and reached out for Lita's hand.   
"I won't attack again. Promise." The voice was warm and sincere. Slowly, the brunette let go of Serena and made sure she was safe before allowing her brother to pull her to her feet. The rest of the girls stood as well, Eos pulling Rini up and joining the others as they stared in awe at the Prince of Jupiter. Wordlessly, he reached behind his back, unsheathing the sword and presenting it to a confused Lita. She stared at the amazingly light weapon in wonder, her eyes wandering over the onyx inlay at the hilt and the crest of Jupiter's Royal Family carved into the emerald at the pommel. Her fingers passed over the stone, a quiet hum filling the room as the emerald began to pulse softly. She looked up to see Serena holding her compact, the glowing jewels evident as the two items seemed to almost communicate. Without warning, an emerald burst raced towards the compact, embedding a new stone at the base before splitting into six rays that reached each of the six original Senshi. Eos, unaffected by the transformation that was taking place, stood open-mouthed as each girl took the form of her respective Sailor. Each one held her henshin wand aloft as the soft green beams encircled them, the same ornate onyx of Luciender's sword forming on each hilt. From there, identical black spirals shot downward, altering the formerly tame Sailor uniforms. Armored breastplates covered silver corsets, the schoolgirl collars replaced by short capes of a similar design, and each skirt bore a broad metallic stripe an inch above the hem. The transformations complete, the rest of the girls looked at each other in shock, then at Luciender in hope that someone would offer some kind of explanation.  
"Oh my," Luna stammered, taking a few steps back. "The Sol Alliance…"  
"The what?" For once, Serena wasn't the first to speak. Rini stood behind Eos, her voice confused. "What are you talking about?"  
"Before the attack on Earth and the Moon that tore apart the Silver Millennium, the Royal Family of Jupiter spearheaded the Sol Alliance. Its purpose was to bring the ruling families of the surrounding kingdoms in a pact to safeguard and protect the Earth and its allies." Luna glanced up at Luciender, who hadn't said a word yet. "It was disbanded just before the first attack on Earth, before…"  
"Before Serenity betrayed Jupiter's loyalty." He spoke with a disdainful tone, replacing the sword across his back. "She disbanded the one legion that could have saved both the family of Jupiter and her precious Moon." Luciender looked pointedly at Sailor Moon, who was still unable to speak.  
"What do you mean, the family of Jupiter?" Sailor Venus demanded. "What happened?"  
Luciender ignored her, stepping past the other Sailors until he was a few feet from Eos. "And you are…"  
"The Guardian," she replied quickly, placing herself between Luciender and Chibi-Moon. "Eos." In a matter of seconds, her outfit dissolved to reveal the clothes she'd worn to class that morning, now torn to shreds and bloodied. With a weak yet cocky grin, she stepped closer. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned in. "And I'm still not afraid of…" Dawn's body slumped forward, her hands and forearms reddened by her attacks. Luciender stepped away from her, allowing Rini and Mina to catch her before she tumbled to the floor. The armor and sword faded to nothingness as he made his way to the door. Stopping in front of the girls, he offered a hand to the speechless Jupiter. Melting back into her street clothing, Lita looked helplessly at him as Raye comforted Serena and Amy and Mina tended to Dawn.  
"Go on," Luna prodded, seeing Lita's expression. "We'll take care of things here."  
Lita didn't need to hear another word. She took his hand and he led her through the debris into the hallway. The pair walked silently to the street when she finally regained her power of speech.  
"You are going to help us, aren't you?" It came out more like a plea than a question. He stopped walking and sighed, turning to face her. Ian gazed down into her green eyes, then pulled her into his arms. For one of the few times in her life, Lita felt small yet secure, completely protected. She relaxed against his chest, her eyes closed. Wrapped in the warm embrace, she heard him whisper softly into her ear.  
"I'll always be there when you need me." Ian held her a moment, stroking the dark hair protectively. "And," he continued, his voice taking on a cold edge, "I will kill the daughter of the betrayer, and end the line of the Moon Kingdom."  
Lita pushed him back violently, fists pounding on his chest. "WHY?" Her scream echoed across the parking lot. "It wasn't their fault!"  
"Dear sister," his voice remained calm and low, the dark eyes hidden behind the strands of hair that hung in his face. "You don't remember the things I do. You saw what I saw, but you didn't experience everything that I felt or learned."  
"What do you mean?"  
Ian stepped closer to her. "The Sol Alliance wasn't disbanded because it was impractical; it was disbanded because Serenity couldn't have dominion over it. Your memories of the Moon Kingdom are merely the sugar-coated fantasies that she created for you. I witnessed the true colours of these cowards; they were all puppets for Serenity, many of them claiming thrones through dubious bloodlines and her backing. In return, she oversaw their kingdoms, but not Jupiter's." He held his head high, proud of the ancestry he'd only recently learned he'd possessed. "We had our own strong heritage, proud warriors with superior strength, and our sword smiths and training facilities were second to none. She refused to honor the treaties of the Sol Alliance because the other worlds had already fallen in behind her, and she saw no need to extend her hand further than those she could control."  
"But Ian…" Gone was the belligerent young man that Serena and Mina had described to her earlier. This was the person she'd met on the bridge for that split second the night before, the same person she'd seen in the visions in Dawn's apartment. This was someone who genuinely cared for her and whom she knew that she could completely trust, but still… "She sent them here to save them."  
"They were sent by Serenity to carry out her wishes here in the future," he countered. "Sent here as puppets to succeed where she had failed."  
"That's not true…" She shook her head, upset and horribly confused as Ian went on.  
"Father meant for us to honor our alliance with Serenity but never succumb to her rule. You and I were supposed to try and steer the new generation of rulers away from the rule of the moon and into a more balanced alliance. She separated us to keep you away from that influence," he replied purposefully.  
"But you tried to kill her," she reasoned, near hysterics. "What was she supposed to do? You're lucky you didn't end up dead!"  
His voice grew strained as he spoke. "The only reason she didn't have me executed was to look good in public, to show she bore no grudge against me and what remained of Jupiter's kingdom." Ian's dark eyes misted over as he looked down at Lita. "And mother's screams…you didn't hear them, but I did. All of that could've been prevented without her ambition, and you and I could've been together."  
Lita didn't know how to reply to him. She didn't know if any of it was even true. Could Serena be trying to control them all? It didn't seem possible, her friend who'd stood by her side through countless battles and against the most terrible of enemies. Confused and upset, she began to sob quietly.  
"It's true, Lita…"  
"But she's my friend! You don't know Serena, she'd never do anything like that to me!"  
"She is many things," Ian answered gently but firmly. "Your friend, she is not. She would sacrifice you or any one of the others to save herself. I've seen it happen, and I've witnessed the horrors firsthand. You can't turn your back on her." A finger beneath her chin, he lifted her face up to meet his and wiped a tear from her cheek "But I'll always be here."  
"Please don't hurt her, or Rini, or any of them," she cried. "You don't know them, you really have no idea of who they are. They aren't like that at all, Ian, you just can't…" The sobbing became fiercer, Lita coughing as the tears ran down her cheeks. "Promise me you won't hurt them, Ian! Promise me!"  
Ian sighed the deep sigh of the defeated, nodding in reply as he drew Lita close to him. "I promise, I will not hurt them, or the Guardian, for as long as you wish, but no longer. I will always aid you in battle, but I will not be responsible for that bitch or her acolytes."  
Lita wasn't exactly ecstatic about his response, but it was a start. At least she knew that Serena and the rest of the girls were safe for the moment. She embraced him once more and slipped her slender hand into his. Wordlessly, they walked together to the park were they sat on the bank, watching the sunset and the moonrise in silence.  
   
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Ian returned home in the small hours of the morning, ready for some well-needed sleep. He and Lita had sat by the lake for hours on end, speaking occasionally. Mostly, she had just leaned on his massive frame while he held her with one hand and stroked her hair with the other. Like the first night at the lake, it had seemed complete, and just right. He'd walked her home as well, then set off towards his place. He had a small apartment about five blocks away from campus, right on the edge of one of the more unsavory parts of town. He'd done it to keep the cost down, figuring that he was more than able to handle himself if the situation came up.  
As he approached the building, he noticed a figure in the doorway. It wasn't uncommon to see people around so late; there were often hookers and bums hanging around at all hours of the night. This time, it felt wrong somehow. As he walked closer, he made out the figure of a woman… no, scratch that. It was a girl, and from a quick glance around, she didn't have a pimp nearby. Ian snorted and kept walking. Nothing to be scared of; even if it was an ambush, he felt confident he could handle it with a minimum of fuss. Nearing the doorway, the light from inside revealed her pale face and a slim figure clad in a long flowing black dress which billowed spontaneously. Odd, considering the fact that there was no wind in this concrete jungle. Ian felt a chill on the back of his neck when he looked at her. Regardless of how small and defenseless she appeared, something was definitely wrong. As he climbed the steps, she came towards him.  
"Dark One." She spoke in an eerie echoing voice that belied her youthful appearance. "I have come to seek your help."  
"Hey lady, I'm just going home. I don't want any trouble," Ian offered, bewildered. Talking cats, impromptu transformations, it was just enough for one day. He didn't need to deal with any more junk like this today.  
"But I know you, prince." Ian stopped cold at the last word as she continued. "I know of your past and I know what you are."  
The "what you are" pissed Ian off immediately; in the space of a few days in some foreign country, he had found God knows how many people who knew what he was. He pushed past her, fishing his keys out of his pocket. "Look, lady. I don't know what you're on, but I'm not interested."  
"I can help you destroy the House of the Moon, Luciender." She waited as Ian slowly turned to face her. "If you help us remove the Guardian, we can help you achieve your revenge."  
"Now you've got my attention." A sly smile crossed his face as he motioned towards the door. "Do come in." The young woman curtsied and brushed past him through the open door. As she passed, he realized that her feet weren't actually touching the floor, and the faint scent of sulfur hung on her clothes. It didn't matter too much at the moment; an ally was an ally.  
   
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Dawn had managed to drag herself out of bed to the sound of her alarm clock. She had awoken to see Mina sleeping on the couch next to her bed. She vaguely remembered the girls at her apartment, helping her to her bathroom to clean her up. Most of the injuries were just scrapes and bruises, so the girls had put her to bed, cleaned up the wreckage in the living room and then all but Mina had left. As she carefully showered and changed, she could feel the skin on her hands and arms tingling. It still hurt, but she wouldn't need bandages today. Strangely enough, she was getting the hang of the whole Guardian thing. Guardian or not, it still meant that the ass-kicking she'd taken part in the day before had left her stiff and sore all over. After she'd rustled Mina from her dead sleep and accompanied her back to her apartment, they met the rest of the girls for breakfast in a local diner.  
"So what happened with that head case brother of yours yesterday?" asked Serena with her usual utter lack of tact and mouth full of food.  
Lita shot her the kind of expression for which the phrase "if looks could kill" was invented as she sipped her orange juice. Setting the glass on the table, she leaned back against the vinyl seat and looked out the window. "It was perfect, if you have to know. We sat for hours by the lake." Her expression blissful, she rested her chin on her hand as she thought of the time she'd spent with Ian.  
"But did he mention if he was… I mean, did he say… Well, you know…" Raye stammered, fingers pulling on the sleeves of her shirt. The visions she'd seen had come back as she'd slept that night, more and more vivid than when she'd seen them in the fire.  
"Did he say if he still wanted to kill us all?" Amy blurted out. Hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, the circles under her eyes almost matched her blue hair. She'd lain awake all night, terrified that he'd burst through her bedroom door and try to kill her in her sleep.  
"No." Lita was still in her euphoric daze; her dreamy tone a direct contrast to the worried inquiries of her friends. "He said he'd leave you all alone as long as that was what I wanted. I made him promise." The enormity of what she'd just said was completely lost on her, but registered a fair amount of shock with the others in the group.  
"Oh, swell." Dawn harped in with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "I'm so relieved that you're able to tame that wild and unpredictable beast. However can we thank you?" She rolled her eyes and sighed, reaching for the coffee that had been refilled for a third time that morning.  
"Will he help us?" Mina ventured a tad more diplomatically. "I mean, is he on our side?"  
"No. Well, not really."  
"'Not really?' What does that mean?" Rini snapped, frantic.  
"He won't help us, but he said that he'll always protect me." She smiled wistfully and looked back at the rest of the girls. "He'd die for me."  
Dawn arched an eyebrow. "You know, where I come from, that could be classified as stalking."  
"You just don't know him," Lita answered. "He's not a bad person, he's really sweet and kind and…"  
"And he's attacked me twice in my own apartment, threatened Serena and Rini, and –" Dawn dropped her voice to a whisper. "If what you've told me is true, he's killed one person while in that crazy DarkWing form. That's not sweet and kind, that's aggressive, cold-blooded, and psychotic!"  
"She's right," Amy jumped in. "That relationship can't be healthy, Lita. You're just setting yourself up to get hurt. What if he's lying to you? What if he turns on you when you're alone with him?"  
"He couldn't do that," Lita replied stubbornly. "You didn't see what I did, he's not that way at all!"  
"Calm down!" Mina exclaimed, not wanting to have them get into this sort of thing in public. "So he's nice to you, and he won't hurt you. That's good for you, but you've told us that he wants to get his revenge through Serena and Rini. We can't let that happen, Lita."  
"That's why I made him promise – "  
"And how do you know he's going to keep that promise?" Mina pressed.  
Lita stopped, regarding each of the girls in turn. "Well, I…" she faltered, seeing the skeptical expressions on the faces of her friends. "I just know, I guess. I mean, I've gotten to know him pretty well in the past day or two. Maybe that's it, you just don't know him the way I do. He wouldn't do that to me."  
"I don't wanna get to know him," Rini grumbled, shredding her napkin in her tiny hands.  
"And I knew him before any of you did," Dawn added. "Lita's right, he does have his nicer moments. But those mood swings…" she shook her head. "That's what I don't trust. He just changes like that, and without warning."  
"You just don't know him like I do," she protested. "If you took the time, maybe you could see that he's not going to hurt you as long as I'm around. Maybe," she said, an idea forming in her head. "Maybe if we all got together someplace, we could all just get to know each other. No Luna, no setups, just talking and stuff."  
"Not my apartment," Dawn immediately replied, sipping her coffee. "He's done enough damage in there."  
"What about a coffee shop or something?" Mina suggested. "It's a public place, well lit, and I'm sure he wouldn't try anything with tons of people around. Would that work, Lita?"  
The brunette thought for a moment. "We can try. I mean, I think he might go for it. I can ask him later." She checked her watch and stood up, fishing some money out of her pocket. "I gotta go. This should cover my share."  
"This afternoon, you think?" Mina asked, standing up as well. "Or tonight? The sooner we get this done, the better."  
Lita shrugged. "I'll let you know." She turned and left, the rest of the girls looking helplessly after her.  
"Think it'll work?" Amy asked hesitantly. "If he'll do whatever she says…"  
"He'll do whatever he damn well feels like," Dawn cut in, slamming her mug on the table in disgust. "Psycho Brit."  
   
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The lecture came and went without incident. Ian settled into his chosen seat at the back of the room, taking note of Amy sitting in the second row from the front. As he'd expected, she avoided any and all eye contact with him, going so far as to bolt out of her seat and run for the opposite exit as soon as the lecture finished. It didn't matter to him one way or the other, so he gathered the few books he'd brought and left the lecture theatre. Outside, the temperature had dropped a few degrees, making the weather almost bearable. Brushing a bit of hair out of his face, he set off for the other side of campus. One more class for the day, and then he could go home and sleep. The past few days had been rather taxing, and Ian looked forward to simply crashing in his flat that afternoon. He'd had only a handful of hours of sleep the night before, and the repeated transformations into his demon form always took a lot out of him. Barring any random people falling from the sky or sudden attacks on campus, he planned to catch forty winks after classes were done for the day.  
"Hey."  
The now-familiar voice made Ian lift his head and turn around. Lita leaned against a railing, her hands tucked into the pockets of her black capri pants. Her backpack slung over a shoulder, she nodded at him and smiled. He nodded his head in reply, stepping over towards her. "Hey," he echoed. "How're ya?"  
She shrugged, tilting her chin up to see his face. While tall, she still had to look up to speak to him. "Fine, I guess. You sleep all right? I didn't mean to keep you up half the night…"  
"S'okay," he replied quickly. "Wasn't a problem."  
Lita smiled, somewhat relieved. "Oh, good." She twisted a bit of her hair around her finger, trying to figure out how to bring up Mina's suggestion subtly. Doing anything tonight? Corny. Me and the other girls want you to come hang out with us later? An obvious boldface lie, considering the way that the others felt about her newfound family. My friends think you're a mental case and I'd like the opportunity to prove them wrong? That was the best reason at the moment, but she didn't think Ian would appreciate the premise behind it. From the bit of time she'd spent with him, she'd learned that he didn't care what a bunch of college girls thought of him. Ian hanging out with her friends voluntarily was as likely as getting him into a formal evening gown. No way, no how, no dice.  
"Something on your mind?" Ian asked, knowing the answer already. Lita's bright green eyes didn't hide anything, and he could instantly tell that something was gnawing at her, and had been for some time.  
"Well…" Lita squirmed, unsure of how he'd react to the suggestion. "The other girls want to um, kinda give you a second chance. Like, start out on the right foot," she explained. "Just get together over coffee and, well, just talk and stuff." She coughed and looked up at Ian, waiting for a reaction.  
Ian snorted in reply, turning slightly. "I told you not to trust them, Lita."  
"And they told me not to trust you," she answered with a frown. "What am I supposed to do, turn my back on them?"  
"Now there's an idea."  
"Well, I can't do that," she replied stubbornly. "They're willing to give you a chance, so could you just do this one thing? One time, and I won't bring it up again." Lita eyed him, knowing the two words that would get him to cooperate. "For me?"  
Again, the defeated sigh. He didn't have time for this; he had a class to be at in a few minutes. "Fine," he answered, shifting his books to the other hand. "No coffee shop, though."  
"Where would you rather meet?" Lita asked, happy that he'd agreed to her suggestion.  
"How about the Uni bar?" A figure in the shadow of a nearby building caught his eye, and Ian straightened up. "I've got to get to lecture, so later."  
"But this evening," Lita protested.  
"Yeah, tonight," he interrupted. "Sounds good. Later." With that, he turned and headed off to class, leaving a bewildered Lita at the edge of the plaza.  
   
"Have you considered our proposition?" Sarah asked in a velvety tone. Flanked by Aaron and Val, she smiled up at Ian as she spoke.  
"I have." The reply held no emotion whatsoever. He eyed the other young man, a sneer forming at the corner of his mouth. "Are you sure you can carry out your part of the bargain?"  
Aaron tensed as Sarah placed a hand against his chest, chuckling softly. "Of course, Dark One," she answered. "My companions and I are prepared to aid you in your quest, provided that you fulfill your role in this endeavor."  
"And you leave Jupiter out of it?"  
"As you wish."  
"Tonight, then." Ian nodded slightly. "As we discussed."  
"Of course. Tonight." 


	8. Episode 8 - True Colors

The darkened room was beginning to fill with people by nine that evening. Ian had taken a side booth where he sat nursing a beer. He had gotten there 10 minutes to the hour to gage the area, considering he'd only walked by the bar and not ever actually gone in. The crowd was made up of mostly underage students and those barely over the line of legality; from that, he figured the bouncers couldn't be too strict and probably wouldn't be bothered by a few more drunk girls. Lita had phoned him that afternoon and confirmed on behalf of the group. She'd mentioned that they were concerned about the age issue, but he had assured her a low cut top could get a woman anywhere she wanted to go, especially past a bouncer at a cheap bar.  
They were now 10 minutes late… Serena's fault, one would assume. Not to worry, the night was young and the liquor cheap. Besides, this was about the most comfortable he'd felt since he'd arrived in the damn country. Just then, he saw the group come in, Lita and Dawn leading the rest past the appreciative bouncer. While most of the girls sported clothing that was a little tighter than usual, both Lita and Dawn had taken Ian's advice to the next level. Lita sported a backless hunter green halter top over the same black capris she'd worn earlier, a pair of sandals adding a few inches to her already tall frame. Dawn had forgone her usual denim for black leather pants that hung on her hips, complimented by a purple top that plunged dangerously low and bared a fair amount of her pale skin over her shoulders. The two were chatting animatedly as the others hung back and glanced around nervously. Ian threw his jacket over the booth table and went over to meet them. When he was about 5 feet away, Lita caught sight of him and waved furiously, a broad grin on her face. He returned the gesture with a simple head nod, but that seemed insufficient for her. In response, she bounded through the crowd and threw her arms about his neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He held her with his left arm and leaned in to speak in her ear, as it was too loud for anything else.  
"I found a place to sit over there," he said, gesturing towards his coat "I'll get the drinks." Looking up sharply, he waited as Lita led the rest of the group towards the booth. "Dawn," he shouted, causing her to turn around at the sound of her name. "You wanna help me carry 'em?" She shrugged, which he took as a yes. Ian set off towards the bar, barging through the various groups of people with Dawn following in his wake.  
   
"I'm still not sure about this." Rini's voice held a note of honest to goodness terror. She'd never really calmed down since the 'incident' in Dawn's apartment the day before, and she didn't trust Ian any further than she could throw him.  
"Come on, now. We said we'd give him a chance, and that's just what we'll do." Raye was trying to play peacemaker, but even she couldn't hide her own doubt as her hesitant tone belied the words she'd just spoken.  
"Aw guys, don't start again," Lita tried, pulling Ian's jacket off of the table. "He's fine, he just had a whole new past thrust upon him. He was all disorientated. What would you expect?"  
"I had a whole new past thrust upon me, but did I go postal?" Serena screeched, for once in agreement with her future daughter. "We all did at one point or another, and we all handled it without attacking each other, didn't we?"  
"But did your past life involve all that pain and suffering?" Lita's voice had adopted a bitter tone  
"As a matter of fact…" Serena began haughtily.  
"You don't know what he went through or what it did to him. I'm telling you, he'll be okay. He just needs to adjust." Lita cut her off, then sat back in the booth, scowling at the blonde across the table.  
"I hope you're right." Amy said quietly.  
   
Ian leaned in to the bartender to order the drinks. At least there was one thing he could do flawlessly in Japanese. "Okay, I'll take a large shot of tequila, a double vodka and Smirnoff ice, and seven cokes."  
"You're kidding, right?" Dawn said to them, leaning back on her elbows and eyeing Ian. "You don't expect me to drink a soda, do you?" She sounded offended by the mere suggestion. "I'll have what you're having."  
"Fine by me. Make that two double tequilas, two double vodkas and Smirnoff ices, and six cokes." He smiled down at Dawn. "Are you sure about that? Little girls shouldn't be drinking with the big boys."  
Again, the saccharine-sweet smile graced her lips as Dawn gestured to her figure. "First of all, I don't think that 'little' is an adequate description, do you?" She didn't wait for the response as she lapsed into her best "forlorn Southern belle" impression, switching to English for effect. "And Ah'm sho Ah can keep up with ya, sugah, so don't you worry yo' pretty little head none 'bout me."  
Ian shrugged, having expected a more heated response to his insinuation, and turned to wait for the drinks. When they arrived, Ian paid for them, and then licked the back of his hand, gesturing to Dawn to do the same.  
"What in the world…" Dawn shot him a look, but followed suit anyways. The bartender quickly shook some coarse salt onto their hands and handed them a slice of lime. Ian picked up one of the shot glasses and held it out in front of him. "What are you doing?"  
"Lick, shoot, bite." He smirked at the naïve inquiry.  
"You mean 'lick, shoot, suck', don't you?"  
"If you're more inclined to the sucking part, who am I to argue?"  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" With a flirtatious grin, Dawn lifted her glass as well and complied with the toast. Oh god, why did we have to start with tequila…  
Ian watched as her pupils narrowed and her jaw clenched to stop it from folding in on itself. Lime wedge between her teeth, she gave him a triumphant grin. Snickering, he repositioned the glasses such that four served as a base to balance the fifth on top. Dawn struggled to lift the remaining three with her hands, trying to keep up with Ian on their way back to the booth. It would have taken her hours to find a route through the dance floor on her own; Ian, on the other hand just walked in a straight line and she followed.  
When they reached the booth they distributed the drinks and sat down. "I didn't know what to get you, but if you want something a bit harder, I'll get it later." He took a massive gulp from his jazzed up drink and noticed that all the girls were looking down at the table except Dawn and Lita. He gave them a minute, then turned to Lita, disgusted. "Well, I tried, but fuck this." He grabbed his coat and stood up, ready to head out.  
"No, don't leave." To everyone's surprise, Amy had spoken first. "It's just that well, we don't really know what you're going to do next. It's a little frightening, that's all." She swallowed hard, arms crossed in front of her to hide the fact that she was shaking like a leaf.  
"I told Lita, I wouldn't hurt any of you." He looked pointedly at Rini, who shrank back against her seat. "No, actually, I promised her, and I am nothing if not a man of my word. You forget, I am a nobleman and therefore, honor-bound to fulfill my promises." This brought a smile from Rini who was accustomed to such a gesture of good faith. Growing up in the Moon Kingdom, she'd seen that sort of thing often and knew that noblemen were generally as good as their word. It was all honor and chivalry with that sort, and Ian wasn't any exception given his heritage. She relaxed visibly against the back of the booth, turning to the rest of the group as she placed a tentative hand on the soda in front of her. Ian glanced at Lita, who was nudging a scowling Serena.  
"Okay," Serena finally relented. "We'll trust your word, just don't make us regret it." Ian returned to his seat next to Lita, reaching for his drink once more.  
"So," Lita said, clearing her throat. "Let's try this 'getting to know each other' thing again. Who wants to start?"  
With Lita's prodding, light conversation began. It was the usual first year university banter; what courses people were taking, how they were finding them, all the general nonsense one would expect at the end of the first week. They finally learned that Ian was studying computer programming, which surprised Dawn somewhat. She'd figured him for the slacker sort, studying abroad as a way to waste a year.  
After about fifteen minutes of chatting, he suggested another drink. Under Ian's guidance, the other girls decided they would go for one of the bottled hard lemonades. "You want one as well?" Ian asked Dawn, standing up to head over to the bar once more.  
She was a little taken aback by the short time that had elapsed; while Ian had finished his drink, she'd only tucked away half of her lethal concoction. Still, she wasn't about to be outdone, especially not this early in the evening. Raising the glass, she slammed home the remainder of her drink and bit her tongue to keep from coughing. "Hell no," she replied, her eyes watering. "Lemme help you with those drinks, and I'll make up my mind on the way over there, 'kay?"  
   
The night progressed in the pattern of rather excessive drinking coupled with light banter and occasional dancing on the part of the girls. After an hour or so, Mina, Raye, Lita, and Serena made their way to the dance floor. It was pretty obvious that Serena was severely lacking in the rhythm department, but the other three weren't doing too badly. It didn't take long for Lita and Mina to come back to the table to get the remaining three.  
"But I can't dance," Amy protested as Mina pulled her to her feet. "I mean, that's just… " Her objections falling on deaf ears, Amy disappeared into the crowd with the enthusiastic blonde. Lita leaned on the table, regarding Rini and Dawn.  
"Well? You gonna sit there and keep the seat warm or join the party? Dawn?" In response, Dawn shook her head, indicating the nearly full glass in front of her. Lita sighed and turned to Rini. "What about you? I'm sure you'd rather be out there with us than sitting here, huh?"  
"But what about…" Rini trailed off, tilting her head towards Ian, who was settling back in his seat. She didn't want to leave Dawn alone with him, considering all that had transpired between the two of them. While she'd believed him when he'd given them his word, she wasn't entirely sure if Dawn had, and she worried that the slightest word or gesture would set the two of them off at each other.  
"They'll be fine, geez," Lita answered, rolling her eyes. "They've behaved this long, haven't they?"  
"I guess…"  
"C'mon." Lita pulled Rini from her seat. "Let's just hope you didn't inherit Serena's sense of rhythm."  
Dawn watched as they joined the others in the midst of the crowd, her hands around something wickedly potent that Ian had ordered for himself as well. The space between her ears buzzed, and she knew she was far from sober. She tried to figure out how much she'd had at this point. The shot to begin with, plus the first drink with the double of vodka in it, a round of shots with the girls, then another double… or was it a triple? At this point, she was amazed that she was still upright. Still, she'd kept up with Ian. It was the principle of the thing, and she wasn't about to let him think he'd won. Lifting the glass to her lips, she realized that she couldn't even taste the liquor anymore. The concept of a completely numb tongue struck her as incredibly amusing, and a silly high-pitched giggled escaped her lips. Ian turned to her with a half-grin, causing her to giggle even more. She winked at him, relaxing into the corner of the booth as he returned to watching the other people in the bar. Yup, she thought to herself, the smile never leaving her face. Drunk. Completely drunk.  
Ian watched Dawn out of the corner of his eye as she grinned wildly at him over the rim of her glass. The last few rounds had kept her uncharacteristically quiet for once. While not necessarily what he'd expected, he wasn't complaining. As long as she wasn't bitching about something, it was good enough for him. Finishing his drink, he caught sight of Lita in a darker area of the bar, engaged in conversation with a guy his own age. She had a glass of something in her hand that he was certain he hadn't bought for her, and her companion had her backed up against a barstool. Ignoring Dawn, he swiftly stood up and crossed the room, the sea of people parting as he made his way to Lita. With a heavy hand, he tapped her admirer on the shoulder.  
"Yeah, whaddya want?"  
Ian had a couple of inches on the guy, which he used to his advantage as he leaned in close. "Just a pleasant word in our ear," he growled menacingly, putting himself between him and Lita. "You lay a finger on her, you buy her another drink, you look anywhere you shouldn't be looking, you say anything that shouldn't be said, and I will personally rip your fucking arms off and beat you to death with them. Understood?"  
The other guy looked up at him with a laidback smile, seemingly unfazed. "Hey, no harm. I was just – fuck!" His wrist was caught in Ian's massive grasp, bent back at an odd and quite painful angle as his head was slammed into the wall.  
"Understood?" The grip tightened. The other guy nodded, grimacing. Ian dropped the hand and spat on the guy's shoe before turning around to face Lita. "Fucking piece of shit. You get me if you have any problems, okay?"  
Lita stared back at him with a mixture of horror and adoration on her face. "Yeah, sure," she managed. Ian nodded once to her, then headed back to the table where Dawn sat with an empty glass in front of her, a proud smile stretched from ear to ear.  
"Finished," she chortled, showing him the glass. "Told ya I could keep up, didn't I?"  
"You did," he replied. "But I'm not finished yet."  
"Not finished?" She leaned forward on her elbows across the table. "There's more?" He nodded and Dawn fell back against the booth in a mock-pout. "Well, that's not very fair." She stuck her tongue out at him for effect, then smiled devilishly at him.  
"What?" he demanded. In response, Dawn winked and giggled, then disappeared under the table. Immediately, Ian leaned over and checked underneath, only to come nose to nose with a giggling Yankee girl.  
"I got lonely over there all by myself," she declared, climbing up on the seat next to him. "So I decided to come over and sit here with you. How about that?" she asked, entirely pleased with herself.  
"Why not?" The corner of his mouth twisted up with a smile. "Under the table?"  
Dawn's eyes danced with mischief as she leaned in closer to him. "You were hoping for something else, maybe? Well, that's only if you're good later," she chirped flirtatiously, placing a hand on his knee as she leaned in closer to him. "Besides," she continued, switching back to her pout. "I haven't even gotten a hug yet from you."  
"And…"  
"And I couldn't do anything if I hadn't gotten a hug first," she continued, batting her eyelashes. "So it's mutually benefisical, isn't it?" Dawn's grin widened as Ian made no move to fulfill her request. "Aw, c'mon," she wheedled. "Just one little hug? Pleeeeeeease? I don't have cooties, promise!"  
Ian laughed in spite of himself and shifted to free his arm. "Fine, then. One hug."  
"Yay!!" Brimming with alcohol-induced enthusiasm, Dawn flung her arms around Ian and kissed him on the cheek. He returned the hug, then detangled her arms from about his neck. "That was a nice hug," she declared, reducing the space between them. "You give really nice hugs. In fact," she said, looking up at him with dark chocolate brown eyes. "Why aren't you nicer to me?"  
"I am nice to you," Ian answered.  
"Yeah, and then you turn into a jackass," she responded quickly. "And I even thought you were cute, and that the accent was kinda sexy, and that those jeans really made your ass look nice, and…" she trailed off, her expression going blank. "And…."  
"And what?" he prompted, trying desperately not to laugh.  
"And I'm sooo drunk!" Dawn burst into another fit of giggles, collapsing against Ian's shoulder. "I'm fuckin' smashed next to a cute Brit on my first week in Japan! Completely fuckin' smashed!"  
"Indeed." He regarded her for a moment, then motioned to her glass. "Does this mean that you're done for the evening?"  
"What, that I give up? Fuck, no," she answered, almost belligerent. "I told ya, I can match you drink for drink. An' I'm doin' a damn good job of it, huh?"  
Ian snickered. While he had a healthy buzz going, he was nowhere near his companion's overly-inebriated state. "Whatever you say, Dawn."  
"Say that again," she said, propping her chin up in her hand as she looked up at him.  
"What?"  
"My name, silly. It sounds nicer when you say it." Her voice switched to a dreamy tone as she spoke, her other hand reaching up to trace a finger along his jaw. "I love the way you talk, really. That's not because I'm drunk or anything," she explained quickly. "I mean, I'm drunk, but that's not why I like the accent." She paused, chewing on the tip of her pinky finger. "Does that make sense?"  
"Yeah."  
"'Yeah' what?" she prompted, grinning.  
"Yeah, Dawn," Ian answered, emphasizing the name. "And I'm gonna get another drink, Dawn." Should I make that two, Dawn?" She giggled once more and nodded in reply as he stood up, making his way over to the bar once more.  
Drunk. Soooo drunk, she thought to herself, watching him walk across the dance floor. Still… nice jeans.  
   
Lita caught up to Ian at the bar, with Serena, Mina, and Rini in tow. "Is she okay?" she asked, referring to Dawn. "She's acting really silly."  
"Oh her? She tried to drink with me and couldn't stand up to the challenge. In fact, I don't know if she's even going to be able to stand when it's time to leave." Ian paid for his drinks and turned back around to face the girls. "Going home?"  
"Yeah, we've all got classes tomorrow morning," Mina explained, a bit tipsy. "But this was fun, we'll have to do it again sometime."  
"Indeed. You leaving as well?" he asked Lita.  
"Yeah, I think so. Amy and I are gonna walk Raye to the train station. They were going to take Dawn home," she said, stifling a yawn. "Is she, um …"  
"Completely and utterly pissed? Without a doubt," Ian chuckled. "How about you let me get her home, since she might be too much for the three of them to handle," he proposed.  
Lita beamed. "Great idea! That's so sweet of you," she replied. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."  
"Sure, tomorrow."  
   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
   
It had taken Ian another twenty minutes to get Dawn out of the bar and on the way back to her apartment building. Completely trashed, she hung on his arm as they left campus and headed home. She didn't say much, but let loose a giggle every so often. After the umpteenth high-pitched outburst, Ian stopped dead in his tracks. "What's so funny?" he demanded.  
Not having anticipated the sudden stop, Dawn pitched forward. Ian's other arm caught her before she hit pavement, and she held onto his jacket as she got to her feet. "'M just all happy an' stuff," she replied, still smiling. "You've been all sweet t' me the whole time, an' it's a nice change from b'fore. I was b'ginning t'think that ya didn' like me at all." She stumbled again, clutching his arm for support. "'M use'ly not this clumsy," she apologized, standing up again.  
"You're drunk," he replied with a grin. "I told you, leave the drinking to the big boys."  
"Ya didn' think I'd let ya win, did ya?" she replied, a bit cocky. "I got a bit of Irish in me, I can hold my own in a bar. An' I did, didn' I?" Dawn smiled up at him widely, any and all inhibition completely gone. While she was honest to a fault on a regular day, the amount of alcohol in her bloodstream had caused her tongue to loosen considerably. "Do you like me, Ian?" she asked in a softer tone.  
"Enough," he shrugged. Her pupils had dilated a considerable amount, giving her an air of childlike innocence. Which meant…  
"So why don' you kiss me, then?"  
"'Cause you're drunk," he answered matter-of-factly. "And I told Lita I'd walk you home."  
"It's always Lita with you," she pouted, turning away. "You get a whole big magic dealie with a sword and a past life, and now you're all chivrilously and stuff, always watchin' out for Lita." Dawn crossed her arms across her chest like a five year old and stomped off. "Even though you met me first," she added over her shoulder.  
Ian looked after her, highly amused with her antics. She was jealous of Lita. "Yeah," Ian continued unnerved. "Just calm down."   
"An' what happens?" she demanded, still ranting as he caught up with her. "You come over and blow the fuck outta my apartment with those stupid wings! An' you know what else?" Dawn whirled around, hands on her hips. "You STILL haven' apologized t' me for all that!"  
"I had my reasons," he replied evenly.  
"So you're not gonna say you're sorry?" she pressed, eyes narrowing. "You should always say you're sorry if you hurt someone's feelings, ya know."  
Ian was getting tired of the kindergarten rhetoric. "And what if I'm not sorry for what had to be done?" His hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket, Ian frowned down at his companion who scowled up at him. Just as suddenly, she beamed up at him happily.  
"S'okay," she chirped, throwing her arms around him unabashedly. "You're cute, so I forgive ya." With that, she planted a noisy kiss on Ian's nose and smiled dreamily. "Do we hafta go straight home?" she asked sweetly. "We can't play together some more?"  
"Well, maybe a little while longer," Ian answered. "Perhaps a walk in the park?" She giggled in reply and nodded.   
"The park it is." She never noticed the evil smirk as it grew across Ian's face.  
   
The detour to the park took about five minutes, Dawn no closer to sobriety by the time they arrived. Ian led her out to the bridge, standing in the same place he'd been days earlier with Lita. Dawn leaned over the stone rail, her hair hanging in her face as Ian stood next to her, silent. The water below rippled as bits of gravel fell from the bridge, catching the light from the waning moon in the sky. She leaned her head against her arm, gazing out on the serene landscape. The sounds of the city could barely be heard in the distance, the scene reminiscent of Dawn's hometown back in the States. If anything, she missed the greenery that surrounded Lexington. The similarity was just enough to make her a bit homesick. She sighed wistfully, eyes half-closed. "S'beautiful," she whispered. "So nice an' peaceful." Dawn let out another contented sigh, her fingers stroking the rough surface of the railing. "I really wish you'd jus' kiss me, Ian."  
"You're drunk," he pointed out.  
"So?"  
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "How about a flower instead? Maybe one of those purple ones near the entrance?" Dawn's eyes lit up and she nodded, giggling. "Then just wait right here, okay?"  
"Okay," she grinned, watching him walk off. A voice in the back of her head reminded her that she'd better tone her affectionate nature down, considering all that Ian had put her through in the past few days. Eyes closing, she rested her chin on her hands. Perhaps she should know better. Being lonely was no excuse for doing something stupid just because the guy looked nice in a pair of jeans…  
The concrete beneath her feet split with a thunderous crack as an eruption of bright light flashed before her. Pieces of the railing crumbled, sending large chunks of stone falling into the water below. The blast threw her to the floor of the bridge, the steel reinforcement bared where the concrete had fallen away. Coughing violently, Dawn clung to the remaining pieces as another explosion on the bank sent rock and mud hurtling towards her. As chunks of earth rained down upon her, she lifted her head slightly to see a figure at the end of the bridge. A bright golden sphere formed at his fingertips, growing larger with each passing second. Dawn scrambled to her feet and ran unsteadily towards him, tackling him mid-attack. The glowing orb dissipated between them as she kneeled on his chest, screaming as she pulled on the collar of his black jacket.  
"Why can't you people leave me the fuck alone?" A right cross connected with his jaw, followed by a left hook that was caught in a massive hand. Dawn's eyes widened as she tried to pull her hand away as he glared up at her. In an instant, both arms came up and threw her against a park bench, the wood splitting on impact. Dawn lay like a rag doll on the damp grass, blood seeping from a gash on her forehead as she lay unconscious.  
Aaron stood up, wiping the bit of blood that ran from the corner of his mouth. Noiselessly, Sarah came up next to him, the stub of a candle cupped in her tiny hands. "Well done, Ayhan," she rasped, the fabric of her dress trailing behind her. "Thou hast served thy Goddess well, and thou shall be rewarded." With the slightest movement of her fingers, a milky gray shadow seeped from between her hands and darkened as it assumed the form of a grotesque horned demon. Towering over its young mistress, the shadow advanced as Dawn stirred slightly, her head reeling as she regained consciousness.  
The bench broken, Dawn felt an icy claw close about her throat as she let loose with yet another scream. In an instant, the scream died as the bony talons tightened. Stars whirled in her field of vision as Dawn saw the creature open its mouth, the same bitterly cold gray smoke from the night in the alley pouring forth and surrounding her. Through the smoke, she could see the flame in the young girl's hand growing brighter as the fingers closed about her neck. With the last bit of energy she could muster, Dawn brought a free hand to the sky, and hoped that slurring her transformation would be enough to change her into Sailor Eos.  
   
Lita had seen Raye off at the train station, and accompanied Amy back to her apartment. Now, she strolled in the night air past the park, decidedly content with the way that the evening had gone. Even Amy had remarked that Ian seemed like a gentleman, just a little standoffish at times. Hands behind her head, she looked up at the stars as a smile crept across her face. Finally, things were beginning to come together…  
Lita stopped at the entrance to the park, the scream of a young woman evident in the usually quiet night air. Without a moment's hesitation, she sprinted towards the sound. As she neared the lake, Lita saw the bright orchid burst of Eos' transformation aura and the figures of two others near her. The light subsided, leaving the Guardian motionless on the ground as a filmy mist hung about where she lay. Lita grabbed her henshin wand, the accompanying flash of light and electricity allowing her to assume the identity of Sailor Jupiter. Wearing the uniform of the Sol Alliance, she came to a halt several meters from the lake and called to Eos' attackers.  
"Back off!" she yelled, catching the attention of the young man and his companion. "Jupiter Lightning Tempest!" The fingers of her right hand pointed to the heavens as they sparked with a silver and green electric charge. She flung her arm down violently as a torrent of lightning rained down upon the pair. The massive bolt threw them to the ground, the flame extinguished as the candle fell from the girl's hands. Just as suddenly, the monster evaporated and the smoke began to clear. Jupiter raced over to where Eos laid, dropping to her knees and pulling the young woman into her lap.  
"Lita?" Eos opened her eyes to see the familiar face of the brunette looking down at her with a relieved expression. "What's goin' on? My head hurts so much…" She put a hand to her forehead, feeling the warm stickiness of congealed blood on her fingertips.  
Jupiter pulled Eos to her feet, an arm around the unsteady Guardian. "We gotta get you home, you're a wreck."  
"He said he was going to be right back …" Eos lurched to the side as the world spun in front of her, her stomach angrily reminding her of the evening's events. She screwed her eyes shut as Jupiter held her up, the pounding in her head growing more intense by the second. "And I am never…" She paused as the world spun round once more. "Ever, drinking with him again…"  
"C'mon, take it easy. Just one foot in front of the other," she coaxed. "Sooner we start moving, the sooner we'll be –" Jupiter stopped as the sound of rushing water grew nearer and nearer. Immediately, a strong arm wrapped around her torso and pulled her away from Eos, who fell to the ground with a thud. Shielded in Luciender's embrace, she watched as he raised his sword to the sky, the edge aflame with a silver aura.  
"Jupiter Dragon Sentinel!" A bright streak of electricity poured forth from the sword and assumed the form of a gigantic dragon that alighted in front of the heirs of Jupiter. With an eerie roar, the beast raised its head to the heavens and spread its wings, shielding Luciender and Jupiter. The wave split around the sentinel beast, the dark surge of water washing over the body of the Guardian. As the waters ebbed, the dragon gave an unearthly shriek as it leapt into the air, the resulting burst of light returning to Luciender's sword as the emerald at the pommel pulsed. Jupiter clung to her brother as he replaced the sword across his back, looking back at the Guardian who had borne the brunt of the attack.  
   
Eos rolled limply to her side, retching violently as the waters receded. Her wet uniform clung to her skin, and her auburn hair was matted with bits of earth and leaves. Vision blurry and every muscle in pain, she forced herself to her knees and lifted her head towards the bridge. The same young woman in black leather stood at the foot of the bridge, a second wall of water rising behind her as an aquamarine orb formed in her hands. Eos staggered to her feet, her fear replaced with anger at having to deal with a raging headache as well as the constant ass-kickings this Guardian gig entailed. Gritting her teeth, she forced the remaining energies she'd endured that evening into the space between her palms. The resulting deep lavender orb churned with a milky white mist, the surface frothing like the foam of the ocean. Barreling towards her attacker, Eos forced her hands outwards as the sphere erupted into a confused rush of water, earth, and smoke that raced towards the leather-clad woman on the bridge.  
The scream never left Val's parted lips. The surge forced her into the concrete walkway of the bridge, the combined weight of water and earth causing the support to buckle. The bridge groaned as the concrete and steel gave way, plunging Val into the shallow water of the lake beneath the rubble. The mist cleared as Eos stared in shock, her body trembling as she realized just what she'd done. Bursting into tears, she sank to the ground as her uniform dissipated to reveal her torn and muddied clothing.  
   
Aaron stopped at the edge of the park, the sounds of the bridge's collapse audible from the entrance. He glanced at Sarah, who regarded him coldly. "The dark prince did not keep his word, and thou hast lost thy companion as a result," she hissed. "He shall pay dearly for his betrayal."  
Aaron merely nodded in reply, his eyes narrow slits as he looked back in the direction of the lake. First Ryan, and now Val…  
"Thou shall seek thy revenge later," Sarah said in a firm tone. "This night is lost."  
   
Dawn lay curled on the grass, sobbing loudly. Shivering in her wet clothes, she hugged her arms about her tightly and screwed her eyes shut. It can't be real. This is a horrible nightmare, and I wanna wake up. I just wanna wake up and make it all go away…  
"Dawn? Dawn, stop! Please, just stop!" Lita raced towards her, Ian following at a fast walk. She bent down and patted her back gently, unsure of what else to do. "It's okay, you're gonna be fine." Her words only made Dawn cry even harder, her breathing becoming more rapid as she gulped air between her tears. She looked up helplessly at Ian, who shook his head in disgust. Swiftly, he reached down with one hand and yanked Dawn to a standing position. Lita gasped as the palm of his hand connected with Dawn's cheek, the resulting smack leaving a field of scarlet that covered the left side of her face.  
"You can't do anything about it, it's done. Understand?" Dawn whimpered in reply and he shook her violently. "Understand?" he barked. Terrified, Dawn slowly nodded up at Ian, almost catatonic. "If you hadn't done it she would've killed you." As Ian relaxed his hold on her shoulder, her complexion took on a greenish cast and her head reeled. Before he could let go of her, Dawn promptly threw up the results of her evening in the bar on his shoes. She raised her head sheepishly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before speaking.   
"Sorry," she whispered shakily. "I didn't mean to do that."  
Ian grunted and let go of her, stepping back and wiping his sneakers on the grass. Dawn looked helplessly at Lita, her dark brown eyes threatening to spill over once more. Tucking an arm around her shoulders, the brunette brushed the wet hair away from her friend's face and began to walk to the entrance. "Let's get you home and cleaned up, all right?"  
"'Kay. Lita, I'm so sorry, I…"  
"She's not going to be able to walk," Ian interrupted, his sneakers somewhat clean. "She could barely get here."  
"Well, what are we going to do with her then?" Lita demanded as Dawn clung to her. In response, Ian bent over slightly and slipped an arm under Dawn's knees, cradling her in his arms. Exhausted, Dawn leaned against his chest and closed her eyes.  
"'M so sorry, Ian," she sobbed softly. "'M all wet an' I puked on your shoes an'…"  
"I know you're sorry," he answered firmly. "Just stop crying already." 


	9. Episode 9 - The Morning After

The sun peeked through the blinds, casting light on a haggard figure wrapped in a blue quilt. Dawn sat on her sofa, an empty box of tissues next to her as a mound of damp Kleenex on the floor gave evidence to her lack of sleep. At first, she'd stayed awake because lying down made her dizzy, and the crying was brought on by pain and exhaustion as she sobered up, throwing out any remaining alcohol in her apartment. At some point, she remembered the latter events of the evening, and a fresh wave of tears accompanied the realization that she, as the Guardian, had ended the life of some girl she didn't even know. Dawn spent the wee hours of the morning warring with her conscience, finally coming out of her daze as light filled the tiny apartment. Slowly, she stood up and cast off the quilt, revealing the same clothes that she'd worn the night before. Numbly, she stumbled into her bedroom and shed her now ruined outfit, climbing into the shower immediately. Scalding hot water ran over her skin, the bottom of the tub soon covered with dirt and blood as Dawn stood under the showerhead. Eyes closed, she leaned against the wall while steam filled the bathroom. Dawn could see the scene from the night before in her mind's eye, the image of the bridge crumbling into the water, burying the young woman in a rain of concrete. In an instant, her legs gave out beneath her and she slumped to the floor, sobbing as she wrapped her arms around her knees.  
I'm not a bad person, am I? I didn't mean to do it… I could've just run away, I would've made it… I didn't even know her… would that have happened if I had been sober… oh God, I'm so sorry, I never meant to do anything like that...  
If this is what a Guardian has to do, then I don't want to be one.  
   
Ian walked into the lecture theatre knowing that Dawn, while probably hung over and a bit cranky, would be there.  Scanning the audience, he noticed that she had chosen their 'regular' spot, curled up in a hooded sweatshirt that was probably two sizes too big for her. Wandering up the stairs, he saw that she was indeed asleep already. Chuckling to himself, he slid into the seat next to her. His elbow nudged her shoulder, and she nearly leapt out of her seat. Obviously shaken, she slumped back in her chair, pulling the sweatshirt about her as she looked up at him.   
"Good God," she breathed. "It's just you, Ian."  
"Good morning to you, too," he replied sarcastically. "A touch hung over, are we?"  
Dawn sighed heavily, pushing the hood of the sweatshirt away from her face. "Look, Ian, I'm so sorry about last night."  She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "I didn't mean to say any of those things. I mean, if it hadn't been for all of that alcohol…"  
"Don't worry about that," he interrupted swiftly. "How are you feeling? You look shitty."  
"I haven't slept," she answered, her voice trembling as she looked away. "I just can't believe I did that." Her eyes began to well up as she clasped both hands together in her lap.  "Ian, I… I…" A tear rolled down her cheek, roughly brushed away by her sleeve.  Seeing that, Ian lifted her to her feet and grabbed her backpack with one hand, half-carrying her out of the lecture theatre. Once outside, he stopped, giving Dawn the chance to fish a tissue from her pocket and noisily blow her nose. She glanced up at him, eyes puffy as she stuffed her hands back in her pockets. "Sorry."  
"Come with me," he answered in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. "We'll get a coffee or something." He put an arm around her shoulder and led her to the cafeteria, sitting her in a corner booth and securing a large cup of black coffee which he set in front of her. Her fingers peeked from the sleeves of her sweatshirt, head bowed as he slid into the seat across from her.  
"I should apologize for the way I acted in the bar last night," she began, curling her hands around the cup in front of her. "I was completely drunk and I didn't intend to say half of the things I said."  
"You didn't mean it," he shrugged, leaning back. "You had way too much to drink."  
Dawn shook her head slowly, eyes trained on the table. "Oh, I meant most of it," she admitted. "You never did apologize to me after wrecking my apartment, and that kinda pissed me off." Lifting her head, she pushed the hair away from her face and smiled softly. "But I think you are somewhat attractive, and I do like the way you talk, so there. The truth is out."  
"And…"  
"And what?" She shrugged, tapping her fingers on the paper cup. "There's nothing else to it. I'm not one of those boy-crazy chicks. I just call it like I see it."  
"Right," he mumbled, a bit uncomfortable with her outright honesty. "Only somewhat?" he asked.  
"You still blew the shit outta my apartment," she reminded him, slumping back in her seat. "That reduces your overall rating in my book."  
Ian didn't bother responding. Best to simply leave things alone for the moment. Silence passed between then for a few minutes as she replaced the hood over her head and sipped her coffee. As she set it down, Ian could see her hands trembling. Swiftly, before she could pull her hands back in her lap, he reached across the table and placed a massive hand over her fingers. Startled, she looked up at him with a terrified expression, as if she expected another slap across her face like the night before.  
"I'm not gonna hit you," he replied, reading her like a book. "At least, not if you snap out of this crying fit soon. You can't do anything about what happened last night in the park, you realize."  
"But I…" Dawn dropped her voice to a low whisper, leaning over the table. "I caused the bridge to collapse, and I killed –"  
"You did what you did in self-defense," Ian interrupted, swiftly cutting her off. "If you hadn't done what you did, then you'd be dead."  
"I could have done something different," she protested, shaking her head. "I could have run away, or just stunned her long enough to get out of there, or just anything but…" Gripping his hand tightly, she looked him in the eye, beginning to cry once more. "That wasn't me, last night! That was anyone but me. I'm a gentle person," she whimpered, letting go of Ian's hand. "I scoop up spiders and put them outside instead of squishing them…"  
"And if one bit you, you'd flatten it," he finished, pulling his hand back. Without turning around, he knew they were starting to attract attention from other students. "C'mon, grab your coffee" he said, standing up. "Let's get going."  
"Where?" Obediently, Dawn picked up her cup and followed him outside. "Where are we going?"  
"Back to the park," he answered. "You need to face this if you're going to get past it." Before she could protest, Ian started off at a fast walk.   
"But what if the police are there," she whimpered, running to keep up. "They'll find us and arrest us and we'll get in even more trouble and…" A growl from the walking wall in front of her cut her off, and she wisely decided to keep the nervous chatter to a minimum. Dawn wasn't sure how much longer Ian's generous mood would last. "Sorry."   
   
A quarter of an hour later, the pair stood just inside the park. Before she could object, Ian grabbed Dawn's free hand and led her to the edge of the lake. The place where the bridge had been was roped off, and a few of the groundskeepers were picking up the debris scattered on the grass. No one took notice of the two students on the bank, the one who simply stared in shock as the other stood behind her, arms folded.  
"They don't even know she's dead," Dawn whispered. "They don't have any idea that…" The words trailed off as her eyes filled with tears and she began to shiver despite the sweatshirt. It simply looked like the bridge had crumbled of its own accord, without evidence to the events of the past evening. Dawn's thoughts immediately turned to the girl who had attacked her, who had been standing on the bridge when…  
Ian heard a choked sob from the girl in front of him and remained motionless, resisting the urge to reach out and shake her. He couldn't remember ever meeting someone who cried so often or so much. Turning his head, he watched as two of the groundskeepers worked to right the bench that had been knocked over. A thud against his chest startled him, and he looked down. Dawn clung to him, her cheek pressed against his chest as she wept silently, tears wetting the t-shirt he wore. Ian regarded her for a moment, somewhat caught off guard. Slowly, he brought a hand up to her hair, smoothing the red-brown strands. At the touch, she became quiet, relaxing her grip on his jacket. Ian's fingers brushed her forehead, and she suddenly froze, eyes wide.  
A forest… an encampment… and a little girl in the arms of a familiar young man in armor who suddenly assumed the form of a large winged beast and took flight…  
Abruptly, Dawn pushed away, staring at Ian in horror. "What are you doing?" she demanded, half scared and half furious. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"  
"I didn't do anything," he protested, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "You threw yourself at me."  
"I was upset and looking for a bit of comfort," she shot back harshly. "I didn't need insight into your messed-up alter-ego."  
"I didn't offer it."  
Dawn threw her hands up in disgust. "Then what the hell did you do? I saw you, or that Luciender guy, holding a little kid in the middle of a clearing and –" She stopped, backing away from him. "And they were all dead," she finished slowly. "You were all bloody and they were all dead."  
"I didn't kill them, if that's what you're assuming," he answered in the same expressionless voice. "They were dead when I found them."  
"When you… what?" Upset and understandably bewildered, she put a hand to her forehead and let out a shaky breath. "What are you saying?"  
Ian let out an annoyed sigh, slipping out of his jacket. "Is anyone around?"  
A quick glance around revealed an empty park area obscured by a few rather large trees and some unkempt hedges. The groundskeepers had moved on to another area, evidently. "No."  
"Good." A slight shrug preceded the bright fingers of lightning that shot up from the ground, shrouding Ian in a bright shell of light and electricity. As suddenly as the charge had erupted, it faded into nothingness, leaving Luciender in its wake. Stunned, Dawn could do little more than gawk at the armored prince in front of her as he pulled the sword from its sheath across his back. As soon as the blade was drawn, she flinched visibly and stepped back a few more paces. Reading her mind, Luciender lowered the sword slightly and extended a hand towards her. "Here."  
Dawn looked at him as if he'd asked her to kiss a snake and immediately shoved both hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. "Here what? What are you going to do to me?"  
"I'm going to show you the truth, Guardian," he replied. "Doesn't it seem a bit strange that you were attacked last night, and none of the other Senshi came to your aid?"  
"But Lita came," she protested, instantly leaping to the defense of her newfound friend. "She was there before you came back."  
"And no one else came, did they?" Luciender watched as she squirmed uncomfortably at the seeds of doubt he had presented to her. "Do you know the reason, Guardian?"  
"Dawn," she corrected. "And I imagine they were asleep or something," she offered, sounding unsure of the words as she spoke. "Why, do you have a better reason?"  
The corner of his mouth lifted in a sneer. "The kingdom of the Moon isn't known for reciprocating the allegiance it demands," he replied. "Neither in the past nor in the present, evidently."  
"Does that armor require you to speak in cryptic archaic bullshit?" Exasperated, she jabbed a finger at him, careful to stay far enough from the sword. "What are you talking about?"  
"Give me your hand and you can see for yourself."  
Dawn eyed him warily, examining the stoic expression and dark eyes of Luciender. Unable to see any reason otherwise, she extended a trembling hand to him, which he seized and pulled in close. Swiftly, he pressed her palm to the glowing emerald pommel, allowing her to share in his memories as the leader of the Sol Alliance.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
An enormous room, where a long table stood covered with papers and treaties… dignitaries filled the spaces, all of their attention directed towards a young woman in a dazzling white gown. To her immediate left stood a handsome young man in green finery, the familiar broadsword strapped across his back. Thunderous applause broke out among the audience as the two signed one of the treaties on the table, prompting a third figure to step forward with a graceful curtsy. The cowl of her white cloak fell back to reveal deep mahogany hair kept back in an intricate knot of braids and ribbon. She rested one hand on her rounded abdomen, her serene smile falling upon the Queen and the Prince as she spoke.  
"The descendants of the keepers of Babylon are grateful to the Sol Alliance for its loyalty." Soft and silvery, the peaceful voice of the priestess was echoed by her robed consorts with hushed whispers. "Thus, we pledge the same allegiance to the Moon Kingdom and her allies."  
The room again erupted in applause; however, the young man did not join in their acclamation. Instead, he stepped back into the shadows, an expression of disapproval on his face. The young woman in the white gown gave a formal curtsy to the still-applauding group of leaders, unfazed by the sudden exit of the Crown Prince of Jupiter and her fellow commander of the newly-formed Alliance.  
Hours later, outside of the palace after the festivities of the evening had peaked, Luciender stood at the lake with his infant sister in his arms. The same woman in the white cowl approached him, giving a slight bow before speaking. "The sisters of Babylon are grateful for thy protection, young Luciender," she began, eyes downcast. "With thy leadership, the Sol Alliance shall be unequaled in strength and power."  
"The Kingdom of Jupiter will not abandon you or your sisters, Priestess," he replied after a moment. "I cannot say the same for Serenity."  
"And why wouldst thou not?" The question was simple, almost naïve in nature and spoken with a childlike innocence.  
Luciender shook his head, looking up to the vast expanse of stars and the Earth that loomed on the lunar horizon. "She seeks to benefit from the treaty, but it is uncertain that she would risk more than words on paper to aid those allied in the cause." He leveled his gaze on the young priestess, who regarded him with sorrowful eyes. "I do not believe that she would aid you in your time of need if it did not serve her own purposes."  
"And thou, Luciender?" She stepped forward, her words earnest. "Wouldst thou have me believe that thy kingdom would do so as well?"  
He lifted his chin, posture rigid as he stood proudly. "I have sworn my loyalty to the Sol Alliance. I shall not dishonor the Kingdom of Jupiter with cowardice," he answered.  
"Well spoken," she said with a grateful smile. "If thou wouldst ever desire the aid of myself or my sisters, young Luciender, hesitate not in thy requests. We would not abandon thee in thy hour of need." A final curtsy, and she left as silently as she had come…  
The messengers from the Earth Kingdom… the urgent pleas from the shrines where the amulet was kept… and the envoy from the Moon Kingdom to the ruling family of Jupiter that proclaimed the dissolution of the Sol Alliance in the wake of a siege on the ancient city of Babylon. Luciender led the combined forces of Jupiter and Earth again the sorcery-driven battalions of the enemy, sword blazing in battle as they charged on to Babylon.  
The ambush outside the city gates… the royal family of Jupiter captured and its king and queen murdered… the appearance of a beast in their midst, and the frenzy that ensued. The solitary quest of Luciender to the fallen city, with the hope of gathering the ragged forces of the Alliance in a final stand against those who would conquer the Earth Kingdom…  
And finally, the discovery of the convoy… the same young woman who had accepted Serenity's promise of an alliance lay bloodied next to the other priestesses of Babylon. Bodies littered the ground, the peaceful mystics having offered little resistance to their assassins. An infant's cry filled the night air, and Luciender discovered the one survivor, a newborn girl who lay next to the amulet the priestesses had died to protect. With steely resolve, the prince lifted the child and wrapped her in his cloak, encasing the relic in the folds of the fabric. A rush of wind, and a dark winged beast took flight for the kingdom of the Moon, bearing the last Guardian and the amulet her ancestors had sworn to protect.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Dawn pulled her hand away from the emerald sphere and stared at her palm in shock for several seconds. Wordlessly, she looked from her hand to the sword to Luciender, who nodded mutely at her before replacing the sword across his back. She continued to stare at him as he shifted back to his original identity, shrugging into his leather jacket and brushing the blue strands of hair away from his face.  
"She abandoned them," he said with little emotion to his voice. "Serenity was unwilling to aid those who spent their entire lives protecting her precious Moon Kingdom. That's why she disbanded the Alliance and why Babylon fell."  
"But the treaty… surely, the other kingdoms tried to…"  
"They did nothing," he replied. "And by the time the legions from Jupiter had arrived, it was too late."  
Overwhelmed, Dawn's eyes misted over as her throat tightened. "Oh, Ian," she breathed, biting her lower lip. "That's terrible… your parents…" She trailed off, a hand reaching for his cheek. Her brown eyes spoke volumes, sympathy and trust and compassion all in a single glance as her fingertips grazed his jawline. A minute of silence passed between them as Ian endured Dawn's uninhibited gesture, finally reaching up gently and removing her hand from his cheek.  
"You shouldn't trust the daughter of the Moon," he said, his voice a low rumble.  
"But I'm the Guardian," she replied helplessly. "It's my job to protect her."  
"Even when they were unwilling to protect your ancestors?" Ian watched as she frowned, unsure as to how she should respond. "Perhaps you should reconsider your loyalties."  
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, staring at the ground. "Maybe I should," she admitted hesitantly. "But still, I just can't abandon them like that."  
"They abandoned you last night," he offered. "Except for Lita," he added after a moment.  
"And you," she responded softly. She gave a soft sigh, lifting her head. "Ian, why did – "  
"You look like shit, Dawn," he said quietly, turning away. "Go home and get some sleep." 


	10. Episode 10 - Ambushed

The door was unlocked. Ian swore under his breath as he pocketed his keys and carefully stepped inside his flat. He'd been in a fairly decent mood up until this point in time. While last night's activities hadn't quite gone according to plan, he'd accomplished his goal. The Guardian was now torn between her allegiance to those she was sworn to protect and those who had protected her. With a bit more prodding, she would trust him completely, and it would only be a matter of time before he could get to the descendents of the Moon Kingdom. Without Lita or Dawn, they'd be unable to offer any kind of resistance. The thought brought a twisted smile to his face, but only briefly. The door was still unlocked, which meant unwelcome company. The curtains were drawn, blocking any of the hazy midday sun from entering the room. Another step inside, and the door slammed shut behind him. Candles sprang to life around the main room, illuminating a small figure clad entirely in black. To her right stood a larger figure, his ugly grimace visible in the flickering candlelight.  
"You have failed us, Dark One," Sarah rasped, extending a steady hand in Ian's direction. "Rather than deliver the Guardian to us, you continue to fight alongside her."  
"I did nothing more than protect Jupiter," he answered coldly.  
"Nonetheless," she intoned. "You continue to defy the wishes of the goddess." She gave a slight nod to her left. "We have lost one of our own as a result of your betrayal, and that death will not go unpunished."  
"The Guardian can still be turned," he replied off-handedly. "She doubts her so-called friends and places an overwhelming amount of trust in my words."  
"Foolish that we would have done the same," she answered with a sneer. Sara raised her palms to the ceiling, the flames growing ever brighter. In the light, Ian could see the outline of a book on the floor, pages opened to reveal the image of a woman standing amidst dancing flames. In the flickering shadows, he swore he could see the hands moving in an imitation of Sarah's intricate gestures. The air between them grew thick with a milky gray mist that settled several feet above the carpet. Tongues of fire leapt from the stubby wicks around the room as wisps of black smoke encircled the young girl clad in black. "You will not find us so easily deceived, Dark One."  
The light grew dim as two shadowy beasts rose from the mist, soulless eyes fixed on Ian as he regarded each of them in turn. The first, a hulking horned beast with massive claws, reared its head and roared, an icy rush of air issuing from its mouth. The blast whipped about Ian, patches of skin on his face and fingers becoming gray with frostbite in seconds. With a nod, fingers of electricity shot upwards about Ian's figure, shielding him in the heavy battle armor of Jupiter's crown prince. The brilliant burst of light subsided, leaving Luciender standing at the ready, sword in hand. "And you will not find me so easily defeated," he answered coldly. With a yell, he charged ahead, the blade of the sword trained on the chest of the nearest shadow demon  
As the metal edge neared the beast, it gave a piercing shriek and burst into a mist of gray smoke. Rushing through the fog, Luciender slammed into the opposite wall as something cracked across his lower back, the sound of metal crumpling masking the crunch of a few broken ribs. Whirling about, he looked into the eyes of the second demon, a near perfect imitation of his DarkWing form. A club dangled from one clawed hand as the other reached for Luciender's throat, hauling him upwards. Grimacing in pain, Luciender thrust the sword in front of him, catching his doppelganger in the abdomen. Another shriek and the winged demon shot apart into the mist, the young man falling to the floor immediately. Ahead, he could see Sara in the dancing candlelight, hands held high as her companion held the tome for her. Unintelligible sounds came from her lips, an eerie echo magnifying them in the small room. Forcing himself to his feet, Luciender staggered forward and held the sword aloft. "Jupiter Lighting Dragon Strike!"  
The blinding bolt issued forth from the tip of the sword, racing towards the pair at the center of the room. Aaron calmly turned, the tome covering his chest. In an instant, the electric silhouette of the dragon was engulfed by a sinister vapor that shot from the pages of the book. The flames of the candles leapt higher and higher as the vapor took form behind Sara.  
"Such foolish efforts, Prince of Jupiter," came a cold yet lovely feminine tone. "Thou art cursed as thy ancestors before thee."  
Oh, fuck. Between the warm dampness that seeped from the side of his armor and the utter failure of his attack, something that could have been construed as panic raced through Luciender's mind. The pages of the book had dimmed as a feminine form in flowing dark robes appeared behind Sara, its face obscured by a heavy cowl. Gritting his teeth, he leveled the sword at the trio and growled. "Get out."  
The icy laugh cut through the mist. "Careful, Luciender. Thou hast no power over the dark goddess." With a wave of her hand, the winged demon reformed in the fog directly behind the prince, its club raised high above its head. The subsequent blow threw Luciender at Sarah's feet, his sword falling to the ground several meters away. "Bow to thy goddess, Prince of Jupiter," she cackled. "Bow so that thou might live to see thy sister before she joins thee in death, like thy wretched mother and father before thee."  
"NO!" With a feral yell, Luciender leapt forward, hands outstretched towards the slender figure in black. Just as suddenly, a ghastly cry sounded from the pages of the tome while the flames danced erratically in the tiny room. The dragon, once brilliantly white, surged forth in a swirling mass of scarlet and black. It met Luciender straight-on, piercing the breastplate of his armor and exiting through his shoulder. The force of the blow threw the young man to the floor as blood flowed freely from his side and trickled from the corner of his mouth. The armor dissipated, the image of Jupiter's prince gone as Ian lay on the floor in ever-varying stages of consciousness.  
"Foolish thing," the dark silhouette scoffed. "Thy powers are no match for those allied with the risen Miakoda and the forgotten Ciarazel." Her movements mimicked Sarah's, the two lifting their hands as if to bring Ian to his feet. The gesture brought him to a standing position in front of them, and Ian felt something shove him in the direction of the young man holding the book. Aaron sneered, his right fist bloodying Ian's nose while his left broke a few more of his ribs. Ian raised his head, the corner of his lip curling up in a twisted painful smirk.  
"Perhaps." The pain in his chest forced him into consciousness, and he set his shoulders back as he scowled at his captors. "Perhaps one allied with the darkness might be a better match."  
Aaron threw himself backward into the coffee table as a monster grew before his eyes. Bloodied and beaten, DarkWing stood in the midst of his attackers. Wings spread to their full span, he fixed his gaze upon the dual image of the goddesses surrounded by the flames. Hands raised, he threw his head back as a ebony aura surrounded him.  
"LIGHTNING SHADOW!" A torrent of black lightning raced toward the two women, shattering the larger silhouette and sending the smaller figure against the far wall of the apartment. The icy rush of air extinguished the field of light, filling the room with the acrid scent of smoke. Sarah lay beneath the window, her clothing in shreds as she hugged the retrieved tome to her chest. DarkWing loomed above her, an expression of pure and unadulterated hate on his face. One enormous hand reached for her tiny frame, ready to wrench the book from her grasp. Sarah cried out in her own tiny voice, pressing herself against the wall as the creature loomed ever closer. As the fingers brushed against her hand, a orange-blue flare shot towards her, throwing the creature against the wall with such force that it crashed through the window. A shower of glass rained down upon her as a second blast flew over her, sending the winged beast in a downward spiral to the pavement below. Aaron came to her side, lifting her to her feet as she clutched the book ever tighter. He glanced down at her, surprised to see a satisfied sneer on her bruised face.  
"She is pleased."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Ohmigosh, is she okay?"  
"The park? They jumped her in the park?"  
"And she was still drunk when it all happened?"  
"Did Ian really carry her all the way home?"  
"What were you doing out so late, anyways?"  
Lita ignored Serena's question as she faced the other four girls. Luna sat inside Rini's bookbag, while Artemis did the same in Mina's satchel. The entire group had gathered at the university library, meeting in one of the study rooms to hear the details of Dawn's encounter, according to Lita. Once Raye had shown up, Lita had filled them in on the events from the night before, after she'd left the girls at the train station. The group had listened with rapt attention, the barrage of questions coming only after the tall brunette had finished her retelling of the battle. She'd left out the part about Dawn vomiting on Ian's sneakers. Somehow, she figured that detail didn't need to be repeated.  
"But wait a second," Mina cut in thoughtfully. "If that girl is gone, then shouldn't Michiru be awake by now?"  
"Yeah," Serena agreed, momentarily forgetting about her inquisition of Lita. "She had all of Neptune's powers, and now she's dead. Why isn't…" She trailed off, realizing what she'd just said. "Lita, did you say that Dawn, I mean, Eos, killed that girl with her attack?" The brunette nodded soberly as Serena glanced over at the black cat, who rested her chin on her paws. "But we never… I mean, even when… or like that time when we… "She kept stammering, unsure as to how to respond.  
"We never killed any honest to goodness people," Amy finished in her gentle voice. The six girls sat in stunned silence for a good minute and a half before Lita spoke up.  
"It had to happen sooner or later," she replied, head bowed. "First Luciender, now Eos…"  
"But if that girl is dead," Raye interrupted, bringing them back to the subject at hand, "then at least Michiru should be awake. Shouldn't she?"  
"The amulet," Luna reasoned, lifting her head slightly. "It's not going to give up any power it's stolen unless we release it."  
"We?" Amy asked, puzzled. "How would that happen?  
"Not any of you," Artemis added hastily. "The Guardian has to release it."  
Serena gave an annoyed sigh as she slumped in her chair. "And what's so special about this amulet that only she can release the power?" Too accustomed to being the center of attention, she was becoming more than a little peeved by the growing necessity of their new acquaintance. She had always been the one with the Silver Crystal, the one who could deal the dazzling knockout and save the day. It didn't seem fair that some new girl would be able to do the same thing.  
"Your mother entrusted that power to the Guardians," Luna answered as she sat up. "After the fall of the Earth Kingdom, she felt that it was only right to keep the amulet in the control of the descendants of the Sisters of Babylon."  
"The who?"  
Luna looked to the ceiling with the telltale "why me?" expression before continuing. "The Sisters of Babylon were descended from the early priestesses of the temples. After the people fell away from the worship of the ancients, the Sisters devoted their time to the protection and upkeep of the various relics. One of those relics was the amulet which supposedly held the lifeforce of Miakoda, imprisoned by the ancients before the creation of the Moon. Another was the Tome of the Dead, the most holy book in the cult of the goddess Ciarazel. The Sisters kept those, as well as other artifacts, hidden from the rest of the galaxy in order to maintain peace. During the overthrow of Babylon and the rest of the Earth Kingdom, the Tome was lost. Luciender was able to recover the amulet and return it to Serenity, along with the last member of the Sisterhood." The little cat sighed as she looked from Lita to Serena to Rini. "That was why Serenity banished Luciender rather than execute him for nearly killing her. If it hadn't been for his insistence to return to Earth and honor the Sol Alliance, the forces of the Negaverse would have destroyed the Sisterhood completely and released Miakoda's spirit. The Moon would have been lost."  
"But how does that get back to me?" Rini finally spoke while Serena stared at Lita in shock, obviously unwilling to believe that she or the other girls owed the sullen Brit any ounce of gratitude. "How did they go from guarding relics to guarding me?"  
Artemis nodded at the chain Rini wore about her neck. "Your Key holds a shard of Miakoda's crystal," he explained. "Serenity broke a piece of the amulet before it was lost in the overthrow of the Silver Millennium, encasing it in your Key and thereby ensuring that the goddess would remain entombed in the crystal. Entrusting the Guardian with your safety meant that the last piece of the amulet was guarded as well."  
Rini took the slender chain from around her neck, examining the tiny piece held at the top of the Key. "And that's why they were after me," she finally said in a small voice. "That's why they want me and Dawn." With a sigh, she fastened the chain about her neck again and tucked the pendant beneath her shirt. "So Ian really is on our side?"  
"So it would seem," Amy answered, looking around the room. Raye and Mina exchanged worried glances as Lita shot an obvious "I told you so" look in Serena's direction. "He saved Dawn last night, didn't he?"  
"Yes," Lita replied, still glaring at Serena. "He did, and he carried her home and made sure she was safe. Maybe you guys can believe me now, huh?" The blonde gave a "hmph" as she folded her arms about her chest, the other girls giving uneasy nods.  
"We should still be careful," Mina said gently to Lita. "He still doesn't trust us."  
"But…" Lita trailed off. They were right; Ian still didn't trust any of the other girls. Truthfully, she didn't know how much he trusted Dawn, and how much of his treatment of her was altruism or chivalry. In Luciender's case, the two were quite different, as he'd made sure to tell her a few days before.  
"Mina's right," Serena grumbled, getting to her feet and grabbing her bookbag. "He doesn't trust us, and I don't trust him any further than I can throw him."  
"But last night, with Dawn," Lita offered helplessly.  
"I don't care about last night!" Serena's shrill voice echoed through the little room, startling a few students working nearby who heard her shriek through the closed door. "Until he does something for any of us that I see with my own eyes, I don't trust him… and you don't count," she added, jabbing a finger at Lita.  
"Serena!" Raye gasped in shock as Lita sat back, stunned. "Grow up! It's not her fault!"  
"Yeah, you could be a little nicer," Rini added, glaring at her future mother.  
"You of all people should be taking my side on this," the fussy blonde shot back angrily. "I mean, he attacked you first, remember?"  
"Yeah, but…"  
"Whatever," Serena huffed. "I'm going to class." Before any of the other girls could respond, she slammed the door behind her. The others looked at each other in silence for a moment, then Raye got to her feet.  
"I'll talk to her," she offered, her hand on the doorknob. "If anything, just to keep her from wallowing in self-pity."  
"Thanks," Lita said gratefully. Mina and Rini left the room as well as Amy gathered her books and put a hand on Lita's shoulder.  
"She didn't mean it," she offered reassuringly. "Deep down, she knows it's not a question of taking sides."  
The brunette rested her chin on her arms, visibly upset. With both Ian and Serena, it was a question of whose side to take and whose battles to fight. Somehow, it didn't seem right to have to choose between the two. Someone would wind up being hurt either way.  
And to hurt someone she cared about was the last thing that Lita wanted to do.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Dawn had been awakened from a four hour nap by a phone call from her father, who had no idea what his only daughter had endured in her first week back in Tokyo on her own. She didn't plan on filling in the details for him, only answering his questions and trying to sound enthusiastic about her classes.  
"Made any friends, Dawn?" Jack Connolly's voice rumbled through the receiver. "Any of the other international students?"  
"Actually," she began with a smile, "I met up with some of the girls from high school, and they remembered me. And then there's this guy…"  
"Oh really?" The unmistakable tone of a fairly protective father coated the simple response. "Was he from high school, too?"  
"Nah, he's from England, actually," she laughed. "Big surly bloke," she added in her best imitation of Ian's accent, which brought a snicker from her father.  
"And does he behave himself?"  
"Daddy!" Dawn sat up straight, blushing bright red. "Good grief, he's just a friend! I only met him a week ago, and I don't think I'm his type anyways." She forced a laugh, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Good thing he can't see this…  
"Mom wouldn't approve?"  
She giggled. "Hardly." She heard a sigh on the other side and grinned. "Relax, Daddy. I'm a big girl, I'm doing just fine." Aside from learning I'm this thing called a Sailor Guardian and repeatedly getting ambushed by creepy strangers in the middle of the night, things are just PEACHY, Dad.   
"All right, all right," he answered. "I'm your father; I'm supposed to worry about you."  
"I know."  
"Do you need anything? Did you have enough money for books?"  
"The scholarship covered that, remember?" Working her butt off in high school had paid off, and the guys at Toyota had been more than happy to sponsor her internship and studies abroad. "I'm fine, really."  
"All right, then. It's late, so I'd better get going."  
"I know. Love you, Daddy."  
"Love you too, honey. Call if you need anything."  
"I will. Bye."  
"G'night." The phone clicked and Dawn returned the cordless to the stand in the living room. For a brief second, she entertained the thought of calling Lita and telling her about what had happened that morning. Common sense caught up with her as she realized that she didn't have her phone number; for that matter, she didn't have anyone's number. With a sigh, she looked at her rumpled t-shirt and flannel pants and decided that she'd better get a shower and find some decent clothes. She didn't want to show up at Mina's apartment like this.  
   
Rini opened the door to find Dawn standing there with a sheepish smile on her face. A bit surprised, she let her in and waited while Dawn stepped out of her sandals. "Feeling better?"  
"Yeah, much," she answered. "I'm really sorry if I said or did anything last night at the bar," she stammered, a bit embarrassed.  
"S'okay," Rini replied, walking into the kitchen where Serena sat at the table, one of her textbooks open as she scrawled in one of her notebooks with a bright pink pen. She scowled at Dawn as she entered the kitchen.  
"Mina's in class," she said in what might have been construed as a rude tone of voice. "She'll be back in an hour or so."  
"Oh." A bit taken aback by Serena's attitude, Dawn looked over to Rini, who was finishing dishes in the sink. She shrugged and picked up a dishtowel, as clueless as Dawn was concerning the waspish remark. "Well, actually, maybe you can help me. I wanted to try and call Lita, but I don't have her phone number…" Serena mumbled a series of numbers of which Dawn managed to catch half. "What was that?"  
"It's next to the phone," she muttered, waving her hand to the wall. Pulling a pen from her pocket, Dawn scribbled Lita's number on her palm and flashed a smile at Serena.  
"Thanks so much," she said, fighting the urge to tell the blonde that enunciation was vital to successful communication. Be nice, she reminded herself. "Um, is everything okay?"  
She looked up slowly. "Funny. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"  
Obviously, she'd struck some kind of nerve. "Well, I, uh," she stammered, taking a step back. "I'm fine, for what it's worth. At least, I'm trying to be after what happened last night."  
"Right, after you killed that girl."  
The plate that Rini had been drying crashed to the floor, the white and yellow stoneware shattering on impact. Dawn gave a yelp and jumped to the side, caught off guard as Rini stared at the blonde in shock. "Serena!" she gasped. "That was an accident! You know that! I can't believe you're bringing that up…"  
All color drained from the young woman's face as her eyes filled up with tears again. "That," she began softly, "was the last thing I wanted to have happen. Before all of this bullshit happened, I was a perfectly typical girl who was looking forward to her first year of school. And now, it's…"  
"Oh, shut up," Serena snapped, disgusted. "Ya know, ever since you and that stupid Brit came along, you've been messing things up."  
Dawn instantly leapt to Ian's defense. "You know, go right ahead and bitch at me, but leave him out of this. You wouldn't be so mouthy if he was standing here," she shot back, seething.  
"I'll talk about him if I want to," she answered loudly. "Especially if he's going around, making up stories about his so-called past with the Moon Kingdom. If all of that was true, I'd remember it, and guess what?" Serena didn't wait for an answer. "I don't remember anything like that. Maybe you need to figure out who's telling the truth here, huh?"  
"Well, let's see," Dawn began sarcastically. "Maybe I should believe the person who's made sure that I haven't wound up in a full body cast since this Guardian gig started. Hmmm, who would that be… on campus, it was Ian who kept me from hitting the pavement when those two freaks attacked me. And oh, last night, it was Ian, with Lita, who made sure that I made it home in one piece. And, hmmm… oh yeah, it was Ian this morning who checked on me and made sure that I was okay." She glared at Serena, whose face bore an ugly grimace. "And you… well, I was the one who saved you from those smoke demons in the alley a couple of days ago." She folded her arms across her chest, eyes narrowed. "I think I'm going to believe the one who's putting out the proof, and not the one who's bitching me out in her kitchen."  
"You know, if you want to put all of your trust in that traitor –"  
CRACK! All of the pent-up stress and frustration from the past twenty-four hours was released as Dawn's right hand shot forward, the palm of her hand connecting with Serena's cheek. Rini stood in shocked silence as Serena stared open mouthed at Dawn, who backed up several feet. She swallowed, running a hand through her hair, trying to think of something to say.  
"What's going on in here?" Luna stood in the doorway, having heard the noise from Serena's bedroom. "What happened?" She looked between the three girls, thoroughly confused. "Is something wrong?"  
"Dawn was just getting ready to leave," Serena answered through clenched teeth, her fingers covering the stinging bit of skin on her face. "Weren't you?"  
"Yeah, I was," she replied hoarsely. She glanced over at Rini, who looked as if she were about to cry. "Can you tell Mina I stopped by?"  
"Sure."  
"Thanks. See you later." With that, she picked up her sandals and left, shutting the door carefully behind her. Rini promptly burst into tears, yelling at Serena as she sobbed.  
"You didn't have to say any of that! It was an accident, and you of all people should be more understanding!"  
"I DON'T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!" The shrill voice rang through the kitchen. "If it wasn't for you, none of this would have happened!"  
"That's not true," Luna answered sharply, leaping onto the table. "Rini, why don't you go into the living room? I think your mother and I need to have a little talk."  
   
Dawn flung open the door to her apartment, more upset at her inability to control her emotions than at Serena's attitude. That time, she'd just gone too far with what she'd said about last night, as well as what she'd said about Ian. If anyone would understand, it would be Lita. Grabbing her phone, she dialed the hastily scribbled number and waited for someone to pick up. "Stupid jealous blonde ditz," she muttered. "And over something as dumb as… you'd think that… hello?"  
"Hello?" Lita's voice was noticeably shaky on the other end.  
"Hello, Lita? It's Dawn. I got your number from Serena, and I was wondering if maybe -" Dawn stopped as Lita began sobbing frantically into the phone. For all of her comprehension skills, she couldn't make out a single word. "Whoa, slow down. C'mon, I can't understand what you're saying."  
"It's Ian, he's here," Lita managed between tears. "I came home and he was lying on the floor, and he's bleeding all over, and I can't understand what he's saying, and…" she trailed off, crying even louder.  
"Tell me how to get to your place," Dawn heard herself say in a dangerously calm voice. "Keep him still, and I'll be there as fast as I can." 


	11. Episode 11 - An Eerie Calm

The next two hours seemed like an eternity. Dawn had arrived at Lita's place to find the front hallway and living room rugs stained crimson. Ian had been lying on the floor, blood seeping through what remained of his clothing. With the girls' help, he had stumbled into the bathroom where Dawn had attempted to clean him up. More than once she'd asked him if they should take him to the emergency room, and each time he'd assured her that he'd be all right on his own. Looking back, Dawn couldn't see how she had believed him; broken ribs, pieces of glass still in his skin, countless gashes and bruises, and the few times he coughed up blood should have forced her to call an ambulance. Instead, she'd attended to him with a warm washcloth and a couple of torn bedsheets to stop the worst of the bleeding. Now, he lay covered with a blanket on Lita's sofa. Lita, who had ripped apart a spare set of sheets while Ian got cleaned up, sat next to Dawn on the floor.  
"It was them, wasn't it?" Lita lifted her head from Dawn's shoulder, the exhaustion evident in her voice. "The same ones who want to get the Crystal Key, they're trying to kill him, too." The American girl nodded mutely, her eyes trained on Ian as he tossed and turned on the couch. Lita watched him for a moment, brushing her hair away from her face. "He's going to be okay, isn't he?"  
"I think so," Dawn answered, her relaxed tone belying her strained expression. "He said he just needs to rest." She sighed heavily, tilting her head back against the wall. Her eyes closed and she breathed a sigh of relief. "We could use some, too," she added."  
Lita sat up, wiping her eyes with the bottom of her shirt. "Should I call the others now, or wait until he wakes up?" She glanced over at Ian as he gave a low groan, wincing in pain as he shifted beneath the blanket. "They could meet us here in about an hour probably…"  
"I don't think we should tell them." Her eyes kept closed as she spoke in a resolute tone. "They don't need to know."  
Lita stared at her incredulously, mouth hanging open slightly. "But they need to know," she insisted, getting to her feet. "Those people were after you and Rini before."  
"And what're they gonna do?" Dawn opened her eyes and got to her feet, walking to the window. "They'll probably be happy that those guys jumped Ian instead of them."  
"Dawn!" Lita looked over at her, shocked. "They wouldn't think that!"  
"Even Serena?" She folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "You can't make me believe that she wouldn't feel the tiniest bit satisfied hearing that he got the shit beaten out of him."  
She didn't have a response for that. Lita knew that no matter how much she wanted to believe that Serena would trust Ian, deep down she knew that Dawn was right. "But the others," she reasoned. "Mina and Amy and Raye, they trust him. Especially Amy," she added, remembering how quick the usually quiet young woman had leapt so quickly to Ian's defense. "And Amy's usually scared of everybody."  
Dawn sighed audibly, hooking her thumbs in the pockets of her jeans as she looked out the window. She knew Ian didn't trust any of them. For that matter, she wasn't entirely sure if he trusted her completely. Still, Lita was right; the other girls had given him the benefit of the doubt. Having three extra people on their side was better than none. "If that's what you think is the best thing to do," she began, turning away from the window. "Guess you should clue them in."  
She nodded in response, getting to her feet. "I'll call Raye first, and then Amy," she replied. "We'll call Mina last, so she can tell Serena."  
"Don't." Ian's voice rumbled through the room as he struggled to sit up. "None of them need to know… shit!" He coughed violently, clutching his chest as he fell back. Lita raced to the couch, helping him to sit up as Dawn tucked the blanket around him once more.  
"You need to stay still," she said gently as Lita propped him up on her shoulder. "You shouldn't move too much."  
Ian grunted in reply and turned his attention to Lita, whose eyes were bright with tears. Placing a bandaged hand to her cheek, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be all right," he began. "I didn't mean to scare you." She held her resolve for a few brief seconds, then broke down completely. He gently stroked her hair, his cheek against her forehead. Uneasy, Dawn slipped into the kitchen, closing her eyes as she crossed her arms across her chest.  
Stop that right now, she thought, chastising herself. A lone tear escaped down her cheek and she hastily brushed it away. She chewed on her lower lip, angry that she'd let something as innocent as Ian's concern for Lita get to her. It was only natural that he'd turn to Lita, rely on her and comfort her, and it was childish to be jealous. With Dawn, it wasn't even jealousy; if anything, it was the simple desire to simply feel safe and protected. She'd felt that way this morning, when he'd done the simple act of sitting across from her at breakfast and holding her hand. Somehow, she'd hoped that something more than a long lost pact had driven him to that bit of altruism. At the moment, it didn't seem likely. Dawn gave a deep sigh and swallowed hard, regretting the outright honesty she'd displayed the night before. That had only made the morning even more awkward for her, having to face him and admit that she had been telling the truth. Still, for those few minutes, it had been so comforting, and she'd finally felt safe and secure, and…  
"I don't want them to know." Ian stood in the doorway of the kitchen minutes later, Lita having helped him to his feet. Startled, Dawn wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded, the forced calm evident in her voice.  
"Me neither," she managed, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared her throat in an attempt to regain some composure. "I think we're on our own."  
"Indeed."  
"No!" Lita exclaimed, nearly dropping Ian. "Well, what I mean is," she explained, shifting to accommodate Ian's frame. "We need the rest of the Sailors. If those other people come looking for us now, we won't be able to face them on our own. They could have followed him," she reasoned frantically. "We can't face the two of them like this."  
Ian painfully straightened up, placing a hand on the counter to support his weight. "Lita, it's not a good idea to let your enemies know you're weakened. This is just the kind of opportunity they need."  
"But they're not…" Lita started to interrupt but Ian put a finger to her lips.  
"I know you don't want to believe that they will, but if they're going to make any kind of attempt, then they will never get a better chance than this." Lita opened her mouth to protest, but Dawn spoke first.  
"Maybe we can tell them tomorrow morning," she offered with a shrug. "That solves your strategic advantage question."  
"Maybe." Ian replied. "Maybe."  
Lita looked between the two of them, frowning. "You really think we can wait? I mean, we should at least tell Luna and Serena…"  
"I really don't think that's a good idea," Dawn interjected, a touch of sarcasm returning to her too-calm tone. "Serena's not too thrilled with me or him at the moment."  
"Why not?"  
A wry grin lifted a corner of her mouth. "Well, she was talking smack about him," she began, nodding at Ian, "when I was there earlier to get your phone number. They knew about what happened last night at the park, and one thing led to another – "  
"How did they know about last night?" Ian demanded harshly.  
"I told all of them this morning," Lita admitted under Ian's disapproving glare. "I thought they should know."  
"It doesn't matter," Dawn rushed on. "They knew, and Serena said something about him and me messing things up, as if either of us had a choice when it came to this thing," she said with a wave of her hand. "I told her to go on about me as much as she wanted, but to leave you out of it." She turned to Ian, who had an expression of near-amusement on his face. "She didn't, she kept going and called you a traitor, and, well…" Dawn suddenly became very interested in a chipped nail as she lowered her eyes. "I hauled off and bitch-slapped her," she muttered in English.  
Ian burst out laughing, wincing a bit while Lita stared at him, bewildered. "What did she say? What's so funny?"  
Dawn coughed and repeated the last bit in Japanese, although with somewhat tamer language. Lita's hand covered her mouth in shock while Dawn managed to look somewhat embarrassed. "After that, I called you." She checked her watch and sighed. "Guess I'd better get home, it's late."  
"Is it?"  
"It's dark enough," Dawn reasoned. "I got here around five, it's almost eight, and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."  
"You're not walking home alone." Ian kept a hand on the wall as he painfully made his way back to the couch. "You'll have to stay here tonight."  
"I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself," she answered with a hint of stubborn pride. "It's only a handful of blocks."  
"Even so, you can't go there by yourself."  
"Now wait a second," Dawn objected, somewhat indignant. "You don't trust me to walk myself home?"  
"It's not you I don't trust," he answered, sitting back on the sofa. "It's all the fucking weird bastards out there."  
"Oh." She didn't have a response for that reasoning.  
"Besides," he continued. "If they did this to me, what do you think they'd do to you? They're more powerful than before."  
"Okay, okay. You're right, I'll stay here." With a shrug, she sat on the floor and smiled ruefully. "At least tomorrow's Saturday."  
"Indeed."  
Dawn arched an eyebrow in Ian's direction at his one-word reply. "Ya know, that's annoying as hell."  
"Indeed," he repeated once more.  
She gave an irritated sigh and flopped back onto the carpet. At least his injuries hadn't affected his attitude, so that must have been some kind of good sign. "Do you mind if I crash here?"  
"No, that's all right," Lita answered, heading for her bedroom to find some spare blankets. "At least you'll be safe here." I hope.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Given the questionable nature of the neighborhood in which Ian resided, no one had bothered to call the authorities over a lot of screaming and a broken window. If anyone had entered the apartment, they would have found a girl in a torn black dress kneeling in front of a large book while a young man stood with a cigarette at the broken window. Glass covered the blood-stained rugs while a lone candle cast an inconstant light across the open book. Sarah held both hands in her lap, her lips moving in soundless conversation as Ciarazel voiced her approval of their ambush of Ian.  
"Thou hast done well," the silvery voice echoed such that only Sarah could hear. "Thou hast weakened the Prince of Jupiter such that he may not aid those who guard the Crystal."  
"And the others?" Miakoda's raspy voice hissed through Sarah's lips. "Surely the others must be kept from the one who keeps me imprisoned. What of them?"  
"They shall fall as the Dark Prince has fallen," Ciarazel replied contently, the flames on the page flickering lazily. "One by one, they shall fall and thou shall possess the Crystal."  
"And immortality," the harsh whisper replied hastily. "Eternal Ciarazel, thou hast promised to restore my immortality."  
The silhouette on the faded parchment gave an eerie curtsy in reply. "And so it shall be, once thou art complete."  
Sarah felt a cool rush of pleasure surge through her body, her face bearing a grotesque smile as her fingers brushed the page. "I thank thee, Dark Sister," she whispered. "And how shall the child guide us?"  
"She will not," the silvery voice answered. "I shall guide thy enemies through the darkness, and thou shall reclaim the Crystal as thine own."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"It's still not fair," Serena grumbled over the remnants of her ice cream sundae. Raye sat across from her, idly stirring her milkshake while Luna rehashed the events of the afternoon as they sat in the corner booth of the ice cream parlor. Neither Mina nor Rini wanted to be bothered with Serena after what had happened with Dawn, and Amy had classes all afternoon. Lita's newfound family immediately eliminated her involvement, which left Raye as the only possible companion to keep the fussy blonde company while she drowned her self-pity in chocolate syrup.  
"I really don't see what you have to complain about," Raye answered thoughtfully, her dark eyes concentrating on the vanilla milkshake in front of her. "We've got another person who's able to help us when it comes to these weirdos, and she's pretty powerful in a tight spot. Besides, she's a nice person."  
"Oh yeah, punching me in the teeth is nice," Serena mumbled over a mouthful of ice cream.  
"She barely slapped you, and no harder than I've ever done," Raye admonished. "I would've done the same thing, anyways. You were going off the deep end."  
"That's putting it mildly," Luna muttered from the floor. "Being completely irrational is a far better description."  
"Well, if you'd told me before about the Guardians and Babylon and all that stuff, it would have been different," she answered. "What Serenity did with them makes sense, somehow. I guess it's a good idea to always have some kind of defense."  
"And Luciender?" Raye pressed. "What about him?"  
Serena finished a spoonful of chocolate and whipped cream, frowning as she set her spoon down. "Oh, he's psycho. Maybe he has some reason to be upset with Serenity, but he should know better than to take it out on me and Rini. We're completely different people."  
"I know."  
"Still, I guess I see why Lita's so drawn to him," she continued thoughtfully. "Dawn too, for that matter," she snickered.  
"What do you mean by that?" Raye leaned forward on her elbows, intrigued.  
Serena rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. It's so completely obvious that she's got a major crush on him."  
"Seriously?"  
"Why else would she have hit me?" Serena gave a smug grin with another bite of her sundae. "You have a better reason?"  
She considered the idea for a moment as she sipped her milkshake. "Well, I guess not," she answered slowly. "You sure there isn't something deeper there?"  
"I don't think so." She propped her chin on her hand and looked out the window. "Makes sense to me."  
Raye considered it for a moment, tapping her fingers thoughtfully against the table. "There still could be something more," she finally replied, looking out the window. The ice cream parlor was getting ready to close, and she had a bit of a walk before she got home. "I could see what I could find out, if you'd like."  
"You really think that your fire is going to clue you in on Dawn's crush on Ian?" Serena laughed. "That's too much."  
"Not Ian, Luciender," Raye snapped, annoyed that Serena wasn't taking her visions seriously for the hundredth time. "I was able to see some of what happened with him and Serenity before. Maybe there's more between him and the Guardians as well."  
"Maybe," Serena agreed, getting up from the table. "Did you ever see anything about the Guardians before?"  
"Well, no," she admitted, standing up as well. "Only Luciender, Serenity, and that other girl with the demons. I think that was because of Luciender and his DarkWing form, though." The two girls lowered their voices as they walked past the rest of the people in the parlor and out to the sidewalk. Luna followed, speaking once they were out of earshot of anyone on the street.  
"Would you like me to come with you?" Luna offered, remembering Raye's distress at her earlier visions with Luciender and Serenity. "Just in case?"  
Raye smiled gently at the little black cat. "Thanks, but Grandpa's around in case I need anything. I'll call Serena if something else happens, okay?"  
"You sure? I can do without Luna for at least one night."  
"I'll be fine, really."  
"All right then," Serena said with a wave of her hand. "See ya later! Let us know what the flames tell you."  
"Be a little more serious, Serena," Luna snapped. "Honestly. You shouldn't take that sort of thing lightly." 


End file.
